UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
DEPARTMENT OF HOME ECONOMICS
RECORDS (1913-1991)
2.7 linear feet
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ACQUISITION: |
The records (donor no. 168 ) were
transferred from the |
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ACCESS: |
The records are open for research. |
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COPYRIGHT: |
Copyright has been
transferred to the |
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PHOTOGRAPHS: |
In |
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PROCESSED BY: |
Bridgett Williams-Searle,
1999.
Revisions by Heather Stecklein, 2002
[UIHomeEconomicsDept.doc] |
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History
From 1913 to 1991, the
Ruth Aimee Wardall, the first woman to hold a Master of Arts in Foods
from the
Under Wardall’s
leadership, the Department had an impact beyond the campus as well. During
World War I, the Home Economics Department added a special foods training
course for nurses. Junior and senior women helped to train Red Cross volunteers
and made “cootie suits” to keep the
Wardall’s successor, Helen Pope,
presided over a thriving department. Summer School was especially popular;
these accelerated courses provided training for rural secondary school teachers
who were required by law to teach Home Economics. Established home economists
from across the state could update their skills or form professional networks
while mingling with beginning students. Although Pope only served two years as
Chair, the department offered Summer Session coursework until its termination.
Frequent changes among the junior faculty, overcrowded classrooms, and a lack
of continuity in administration began to affect student morale. These problems
would have to be faced squarely by the next administrator.
Frances Zuill,
who served as department chair from 1923-1939, stressed the dual goals of
community service and academic excellence. At her urging, the Department began
to offer graduate work. She also encouraged faculty members to pursue the
doctorate, an unusual attainment among home economics educators at the time. Zuill was responsible for instituting the Alumnae
newsletter and the campus-wide Christmas dinner, two of the activities that characterized
the Home Economics Department in the minds of graduates of the era. The Zuill administration was a golden time for the Home
Economics Department. Zuill herself was president of
the American Home Economics Association. Another faculty member, Mate Giddings,
was national president of Omicron Nu (home economics honorary society).
Superior educators like Edna Hill, Alice Brigham, Ione Hosman,
Merle Ford, and Lula Smith joined the faculty during Zuill’s
tenure as chair. Additionally, the department moved to more spacious renovated
quarters in McBride Hall. When Zuill departed to
chair the Home Economics department at the
Under Dr. Sybil Woodruff,
head of the department from 1940 to 1955, the Home Economics Department
developed a national reputation for its work in the fields of dietetics and
nutrition. Students worked closely with Dr. Kate Daum
(Director of Nutrition at the University Hospitals until 1955), Dr. W. A.
Tuttle, and Dr. Genevieve Stearns. The Iowa Breakfast Studies, joint research
conducted by the
Dr. Floy
Eugenia Whitehead, department chair from 1955 to 1971, presided over Home
Economics during a time of great change in American society. The department
continued to stress "dual career" training for women, acknowledging
that most women would marry and raise children as well as pursue employment
outside the home. Whitehead's academic excellence in the field of nutrition set
the tone for the department; she encouraged all faculty members to explore professional
development opportunities. Yet, research had to be subordinate to quality
teaching; the department firmly believed that hands-on learning, rather than
“indoctrination,” better served the civic mission of their discipline and the
nation. Classes continued to grow throughout the 1960s and graduate study
(particularly in the areas of nutrition and textiles) substantially increased.
Dr. Sara Wolfson
presided over the Home Economics department from 1972-1989. Under her tenure,
the department’s faculty received accreditation from the American Home
Economics Association and was rated as one of the top ten departments in the
nation. A major renovation of department facilities was completed in 1985.
There were signs, however, that Liberal Arts administrators did not support the
department as enthusiastically as these accomplishments seemed to merit.
Professors continued to share office space, the only faculty members in the
Liberal Arts required to do so. When professors retired, the money to hire replacements
was slow in coming. The size of the teaching staff diminished; qualified
faculty were hard to find due to a national shortage of Home Economics
graduates with advanced degrees. Those with the desired skills could find
higher salaries elsewhere. Remaining professors had to bear a heavier load of
teaching and advising, with some diminution of their research activities. The
department began to rely more heavily on teaching assistants and temporary or
adjunct personnel to teach classes. As the university positioned itself to
become a premier research institution, those Home Economics faculty members
whose strengths lay in the quality of their teaching and mentorship abilities
perceived themselves to be undervalued in a system that increasingly assessed scholarly
worth by examining one’s publication record. Those faculty members appointed to
the textile and design branches of the department also noted that their
exhibition work, while professional in nature, was not considered tenure-worthy
under the guidelines set forth by the
Dr. Carolyn Lara-Braud took over as the chair of the department during its
valiant, but ultimately fruitless, battle against termination. Administrators
reacted to the deep economic distress produced by the 1980s farm crisis by
eliminating all perceived duplications at
Scope and Content Note
The
The Administrative
Records series (1913-1989) includes the bulk of the collection and details
the activities of the
The Alumnae newsletters and bulletins subseries (1928-1988)
contains multi-page reports on departmental affairs and alumnae news. It is
organized according to departmental chair.
The American Home Economics Association accreditation subseries (1982-1989)
chronicles the department's bid for accreditation by the national organization
for home economics professionals and its subsequent consent to withdrawal of
accreditation when circumstances surrounding the termination process made
sustaining its credentials impossible.
The Biennium Request subseries (1961-1971) contains the
department’s formal reports of activities to the University every two years. In
addition to reporting activities, these requests detailed plans for further
development and the resulting financial needs.
The Catalogs and university publications
subseries (1914-1969, scattered) contains catalogs promoting the
department's course offerings. Summer school catalogs are also included. A 1913
university bulletin highlighting educational opportunities for women at the
State University of Iowa offers an illustrated guide to campus life.
The Departmental expense accounts subseries (1913-1922) contains records of
materials and expenses incurred by the Home Economics department in its first
decade of existence, including supplemental payroll information.
The Publicity
subseries (1940-1984) consists of published materials released by the
department for promotion. It includes departmental newsletters, press releases,
brochures, and newspaper clippings.
The Student Research
subseries (1974, 1984) contains one thesis by Rosemary Wilmoth
on the subject of perceptions of women’s managerial skills (1984) and one
directed study by Suzanne Dziurawiec Haines on the
subject of infant nutrition in Iowa City (1974).
The Departmental self-studies
subseries (1975, 1986) offers the department’s in-depth review of its
activities in 1975 and 1986.
The Termination of department subseries (1987-1989) includes
materials relating to the internal and external review of the Home Economics
department from 1987-1989. Of particular interest are copies of internal and
external review reports, exchanges between departmental faculty and Dean
Gerhard Loewenberg concerning the conduct of an
external referee during his campus visit, and a vigorous faculty rebuttal of
the findings of the external review report.
The Thesis subseries (1932-1968) contains lists of thesis titles
in the field of home economics from both the
The Activities series (1942-1970) provides information on the
various activities in which the faculty and students in the department
participated. The series includes materials from old Days, the department’s
bean supper, departmental workshops, exhibits, field trips, and student
meetings. The department’s fiftieth anniversary is well represented in the
series. The fiftieth anniversary folder in the series contains publications
from the celebration and the transcript of the humorous play “Fifty liberal
years” that was staged in honor of the anniversary.
The series contains a Conference proceedings subseries
(1942, 1964, 1965) which consists of the published materials that accompanied
conferences hosted by the University of Iowa Home Economics department on the
topics of nutrition, textiles, and social gerontology.
The Courses series (1963-1972)
contains course materials from a team taught research methods class in
1964-1965. In addition, the series includes the department’s lists of course
schedules from 1963 until 1972.
The Facilities series
(1945-1970) includes the department’s information on equipment fabric
collections, slide collections, TV films, and office space needs. In addition,
it provides information on the remodeling of Macbride
hall that took place in 1981.
The Faculty series (1933-1984) gives researchers
information on some of the faculty members that served the department during
its existence. The series is divided by faculty member and contains research
publications and manuscripts produced by department faculty along with a few
biographies, photographs, and press releases.
Chairs of the
Ruth Aimee Wardall 1913-1922
Helen Pope 1922-1923
Dr. Frances Zuill 1923-1939
Mate Giddings 1939-1940
Dr. Sybil Woodruff 1940-1955
Dr. Eugenia Whitehead 1955-1971
Dr. Sara Wolfson 1972-1988
Dr. Carolyn Lara-Braud 1989-1991
Related Collections
Margaret Keyes papers
Floy Eugenia Whitehead papers
Harriet Stevens papers