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Catherine Beecher
Her most famous works is A Treatise on Domestic Economy which was published in 1841. This textbook demonstrated her beliefs about women’s central role as mothers and educators, raising the next generation of citizens and creating a sanctuary for their families within the home. -
Land Grant Universities
A land-grant college or university is an institution that has been designated by its state legislature or Congress to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862, 1890, and 1994. The original mission of these institutions, as set forth in the first Morrill Act, was to teach agriculture, military tactics, and the mechanic arts as well as classical studies so members of the working classes could obtain a liberal, practical education. -
Morrill Act 1862
Passed on July 2, 1862, this act made it possible for states to establish public colleges funded by the development or sale of associated federal land grants. Over 10 million acres provided by these grants were expropriated from tribal lands of Native communities. -
Mary Beaumont Welch
Mary Welch taught the first home economics classes to college students in the United States. -
Land Grant Universities in Arkansas
The Arkansas General Assembly established the university in Fayetteville in 1871 as the Arkansas Industrial University, and under the Morrill Act of 1862, it became the state land-grant institution and first state-assisted college in Arkansas. On opening day, January 22, 1872, there were four teachers and eight students. Arkansas Industrial University became the University of Arkansas in 1899, reflecting the institution’s broadened academic mission. -
Rumford Kitchen
In the Department of Hygiene and Sanitation was the exhibit known as "The Rumford Kitchen," an outgrowth of the work in the application of the principles of chemistry to the science of cooking, which has for three years been carried on as an educational agency by Mrs. Robert H. Richards, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Mrs. John A. Abel, with pecuniary assistance from certain public-spirited citizens of Boston. -
Ellen H. Richards
In 1899, MIT chemist Ellen H. Richards (1842–1911) instigated a series of annual “Lake Placid Conferences” (1899–1908) that became known as the foundation of the home economics movement. Richards’s first interest was in improving the household’s well-being by using sanitary and nutrition sciences, an objective that was passed on to the movement. -
W. O. Atwater
Wilbur Olin Atwater's experiments with a "bomb calorimeter" helped develop the system of food energy dieters and food manufacturers rely on today. In 1902, Wilbur Olin Atwater created this chart to quantify the nutritional content of beef, flour, sugar, and various other foods. -
Headquarters for Family and Consumer Sciences
American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) | Alexandria VA. Founded in 1909, the American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) is the only professional association representing members from both multiple FCS practice settings and content areas. -
Martha Rensselaer
Rensselaer served as president of the American Home Economics Association. In 1919, her duties expanded when the Cornell trustees authorized the establishment of a School of Home Economics. Van Rensselaer was regarded as a leading authority on issues affecting women and families, and she used mass media to disseminate her views. -
Smith Lever Act 1914
The Smith-Lever Act established a national Cooperative Extension Service that extended outreach programs through land-grant universities to educate rural Americans about advances in agricultural practices and technology. These advances helped increase American agricultural productivity dramatically throughout the 20th century. -
Smith Hughes Act 1917
One of the most important accomplishments of the Smith-Hughes Act was the establishment of cooperative activities between the Federal Government and the States. Financial support is provided to our country's most worthwhile endeavor, the education and development of its youth. -
College Division of Home Economics was created
With the support of State College of Agriculture President Andrew Soule, a bachelor’s degree for women is created within the college’s Division of Home Economics. Soule names Mary Ethel Creswell, who previously served as director of the USDA’s Cooperative Extension Service home economics programs in 15 Southern states, as the director of the new division, which includes two faculty members. -
Women's building
A cornerstone is laid for the “women’s building,” which would house the new division upon its completion in 1920. The building contains 37 bedrooms, a gymnasium, a laboratory, classrooms, a lounge and a swimming pool. It is later named Soule Hall in honor of the State College of Agriculture president who advocated for the creation of the division. -
Dawson Hall was created
Dawson Hall, named in honor of Edgar Gilmer Dawson, the father of Dr. William Terrell Dawson, is completed in January and houses home economics, applied arts and a cafeteria. A 26,000-square foot addition to the building, later named Speirs Hall in honor of the college’s third dean, begins in 1966 and is completed in 1971. “Pou’s Pillars,” named for Dean Emily Quinn Pou, are added in 1982 and the building’s front entrance is moved to face west. -
The Vocational Education Act of 1963
The Vocational Education Act of 1963 provided grants to states to maintain, improve, and develop vocational-technical education programs. The funds were earmarked for occupations in demand. -
Vocational Amendment 1968
Major provisions of the measure, the Vocational Education Amendments of 1968, authorized funds to aid states and localities in establishing vocational education programs in local high schools. They expanded the new course of federal aid for vocational education set by a 1963 law, which redirected federal programs from training in selected occupational categories to a much broader concern for preparing all groups of the community for the fast-changing U.S. job market. -
First Ph.D. Program
A Ph.D. program in Child and Family Development is approved by the Board of Regents. Lynda Henley Walters received the school’s first doctorate in 1978. Walters would later serve as the college’s associate dean from 1982-91. A Ph.D. program in foods and nutrition would follow in 1980; the doctorate in textile sciences within the department of textiles, merchandising and interiors begins in 1990, and a Ph.D. in housing and consumer economics begins in 1994. -
Vocational Amendment 1976
The 1976 Amendments to the Vocational Equity Act of 1963, required states receiving federal funding for vocational education to develop and carry out activities and programs to eliminate gender bias, stereotyping, and discrimination in vocational education. That the thrust to eliminate sex bias and stereotyping will hopefully cause vocational education to become more open and accepting in both programs and staffing, and that research has a tremendous challenge in providing the understanding. -
The College Home of Economics
The School of Home Economics becomes the College of Home Economics, effective Sept. 14. A publication of the University System of Georgia states: “The School (of Home Economics) now offers the Ph.D. in child and family development. The term “School” does not convey either identification with the Ph.D. degree or a colleagueship image with other units of the university. -
Carl Perkins Act
Named for Carl D. Perkins, the act aims to increase the quality of technical education within the United States in order to help the economy. The Perkins IV law also included new requirements for “programs of study” that link academic and technical content across secondary and post-secondary education, and strengthened local accountability provisions that will ensure continuous program improvement. -
A new Name
After years of debate among faculty, students and alumni, the college is renamed the College of Family and Consumer Sciences. More than 70 percent of students responding to a survey at the time said changing the name of the college would increase the value of their degrees. Among the many reasons given in support of the name change is to counter a negative stereotype associated with the phrase “home economics” among some students and employers. -
100th Anniversary
Family and consumer sciences celebrates its 100th anniversary.
