Oregon
State University. College of Home Economics and
Education.
Title:
College of Home Economics and Education
Records
Dates:
1913-2000 ( inclusive )
1952-1992 ( bulk )
Quantity:
21 cubic ft.
Collection Number:
RG
141
Summary:
These records were generated by the
College of Home Economics and Education. In addition to documenting
administrative aspects of the College such as curriculum development, committee
work, and funding, these records also highlight faculty and student research,
programs in home economics at other colleges and universities, professional
home economics organizations, updates on alumni, and the accreditation of the
college.
Repository:
Oregon State University Libraries
University Archives
Funding for encoding this
finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for
the Humanities.
Historical Note
First established in 1889 as the Department of Household Economy and
Hygiene, the College of Home Economics at OSU was the fifth such college
program to be instituted in the U.S. and the first west of the Rocky Mountains.
Margaret Comstock Snell served as the College's first Professor and Dean, a
post she held until 1908. Having received a M.D., Snell's emphasis in her
instruction and research was the importance of preventative health. Until 1895,
when Mary Avery was hired as an assistant in sewing classes, Snell was the sole
instructor and staff member of the department.
Initially only open to female students, the Department of Household
Economy was one of four major areas of study (along with Agriculture, Mechanics
and Pharmacy) offered by the College to students until about 1910. Within two
years of the establishment of the department, options for a three-year and
four-year program leading to a Bachelor of Household Economy and Letters degree
were available to students. By 1897, these options were consolidated into a
four-year program for a Bachelor of Science degree and as well as an option for
Masters' in Household Science degree. For the undergraduate degree in Home
Economics, the department developed a three tiered curricula, known after 1933
as Curricula A, B, and C. This system differentiated between students training
for a professional career (teaching or social work) and those intending to
apply their education at home.
In the first years of the department, a basic core curriculum of
subjects were offered without specialization. These courses included: sewing,
cooking, gardening, care of the sick, hygiene, social etiquette, and
dressmaking. In 1908, two departments were formed in what was then renamed the
School of Domestic Science and Art. The formation of these two departments,
Domestic Science and Art, signaled an increasing specialization of the school
with classes described in the catalog in the following groupings by 1919:
Household Science, Household Art, Household Administration, Institutional
Management, Applied Design, and the Industrial Education Group. As the school
expanded in scope and size, these two departments underwent several name
changes and divisions from which new departments were created (see list below).
Meanwhile, a training program in gerontology was formed in 1972 as OSU became a
member of the Oregon Center Gerontology Consortium. In 1983, the school was
renamed to the College of Home Economics. In 1989, the College re-organized
into three departments which reflect it's current form: Apparel, Interiors,
Housing and Merchandising; Nutrition and Food Management; and Human Development
Family and Sciences.
Another important aspect of the college has been Home Economics
Education, which was administered in the School of Education from 1918 until
1994, when the School of Education merged with the College of Home Economics to
form the College of Home Economics and Education. Home Economics Extension and
Experiment Station Research are major functions of the College of Home
Economics.
Originally housed on the third floor of Benton Hall, the department
moved from Kidder Hall, then to Waldo Hall, and finally to Agriculture Hall
before moving to its present location in the Home Economics Building in 1914.
In addition to the Home Economics Building, the college managed several nursery
schools and "practice houses" for courses in childcare and home management. The
first practice house, Withycombe House, was established in 1917.
Content Description
Series I consists primarily of correspondence and memoranda, but also
reports and brochures. Among the subjects addressed in this series include: the
accreditation of the College, committee efforts, conferences, gifts, building
renovations and additions, state legislation, the Oregon Home Economics
Association (OHEA), the Peace Corps, and special events such as dedications and
anniversaries. This series also contains letters sent by Ava Milam Clark for
general distribution to the staff of the College which document her travels in
Asia and the Middle East as a researcher and coordinator for the Home Economics
study abroad program. In these letters, Clark details the cultural and academic
life of several countries, including: China, Japan, Syria, Korea, and the
Philippines. There are also travel letters similar to those of Clark's from two
other staff members: Margaret Fedde and Frances Clinton documenting visits to
Germany and France.
Series II consists of minutes of faculty meetings and committees. There
are also minutes from committees outside of the College, including: the Home
Economics Club, Governor's Subcommittee on Education, Women's Study Group, and
the Western Home Economics Research Administrative Council. Series III consists
of reports and studies relating to the accreditation of the college, faculty
retreats, class field trips, conference proceedings, survey and research
statistics of other college Home Economics programs, and departmental
development plans. Included in this series are reports generated by
professional organizations and research institutes such as: American Home
Economics Association (AHEA), Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges,
Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS), Western Regional Research Institute
(WRRI), and the National Association of Land-Grant Colleges and State
Universities (NALGCSU).
Series IV consists of materials relating to curriculum development and
instruction and covers subjects such as pass/fail grading, summer term classes
and publicity, enrollment data for Home Economics programs, theses granted by
the College, and proposals for new degree programs. Records in this series
include: Category I Proposals, correspondence, reports, brochures, and blank
examination forms. Series V consists of correspondence and reports concerning
the development of a guiding statement and objectives for the College, records
retention, review and appeal guidelines, certification rules, the
administrative code, job classification changes, and other policy and procedure
issues.
Series VI pertains to grant proposals for the funding and development of
various programs and projects including: a Women's Job Corps Center, a
Gerontology Program at OSU, and a Head Start demonstration project in Oregon.
Other proposals in this series include grants for specific research projects
from departments in the College: Foods and Nutrition; Clothing, Textiles, and
Related Arts; and the Family Life and Home Economics Administration. Series VII
relates to slide presentations, radio programs, and speeches delivered by Home
Economics faculty for classes, dedications, awards ceremonies, and media
outreach. Among the materials in this series are: transcripts for speech and
radio broadcasts, sound recordings of speeches and class lectures, slide show
scripts, speech notes, and legislative testimony.
Series VIII consists of newspaper clippings from The Barometer, The
Corvallis Gazette-Times, The Oregonian, The Oregon Journal, and other regional
media relating to alumni and staff news and research, the Nutrition For Defense
program, various anniversary events, building dedications, funding and
curriculum issues, and the Oregon Home Economics Association (OHEA). Series IX
are newsletters produced for the faculty and staff of the College of Home
Economics, Extension Home Economics, and the Program on Gerontology. Series X
contains theses and student papers prepared for degrees and various home
economics classes. The topics of these papers include: student mortality, good
grooming, home economics education in Asia, dress codes, and the fat content of
eggs.
Series XI consists of articles, brochures, handbooks, magazines, and
posters relating to events at OSU sponsored by the College of Home Economics,
faculty publications and research, career information, the college nursery
school, and the OSU Program on Gerontology. Included in this series are two
volumes of bound publications. Entitled The House I and II, these volumes
consist of a variety of bulletins and circulars printed by the U.S. Dept. of
Agriculture, U.S. Dept. Of the Interior, the Federal Housing Administration,
U.S. Dept. Of Commerce, and the OSC Extension Service. Dating from 1928 to
1942, these publications pertain to housing construction and design, home
furnishings, and maintenance.
Series XII consists of historical essays, outlines, and notes on the
history of the OSU College of Home Economics, the college nursery school, the
development of home economics in the U.S. and the American Home Economics
Association (AHEA). Series XIII consists of biographical files of home
economics faculty and alumni and primarily contain newspaper clippings and
correspondence. Included in this series are lists of staff and distinguished
alumni as well as a collection of faculty vitas compiled in 1982. Series XIV
pertains to awards and honors bestowed to faculty and students including:
scholarships, fellowships, the OSU Distinguished Service Award, and the Westly
College of Home Economics Teacher/Counselor of the Year Awards.
Series XV contains guestbooks of visitors for tours, dedications, and
other special events at the Family Study Center, Kent House, and the Withycombe
House Management House. Series XVI consists of 5 scrapbooks, 4 of which relate
to the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Covering the
years 1967 to 1978, the EFNEP scrapbooks contain newspaper clippings and
photographs of EFNEP activities throughout the state, in particular summer
youth camps sponsored by the program. The fifth scrapbook pertains to the
refurbishing of the Home Economics Conference Suite and contains photographs of
the room and lists of patrons and other donors. Series XVII is the book
Adventures of a Home Economist by Ava Milam Clark. Series XVIII is a wall
calendar for the year 1925 printed especially for the College of Home Economics
featuring quotes and proverbs about the family, tips for childcare and food
preparation, and images of family life at home.
Series XIX consists of brochures, correspondence, county plans of work,
minutes, newsletters, and reports generated by the Office of Extension Home
Economics (now Family Extension and Community Development). Included among the
subjects addressed in this series are: EFNEP, OSU Mini-college, Oregon
Extension Management Information System, and the Family Living Program.
Series XX are architectural drawings and book plans relating to the
construction, renovation, and addition to various structures managed and used
by the College of Home Economics: Milam Hall, Kent House, Nursery School, Home
Management House, and 6 quonset hut buildings identified only as A-F. Also
included in this series are specifications for the building of household
cabinetry, shelving, and furniture in a series of drawings by Maud Wilson
labeled "Storage Arrangements and Furnishings." Another set of drawings by Maud
Wilson consist of specifications for the construction of six, four, and three
bedroom farmhouses.
Use of the Collection
Restrictions on Access :
Some of the files in series XIV (Awards) may contain confidential
information. Access subject to review by Archivist.
Preferred Citation :
College of Home Economics and Education Records (RG 141), Oregon State
University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
The records are organized into twenty series: I. Correspondence; II.
Minutes; III. Reports/Studies; IV. Curriculum Development/Instruction; V.
Policies and Procedures; VI. Grant Proposals; VII. Presentations/Speeches;
VIII. Newspaper Clippings; IX. Newsletters; X. Theses/Student Papers; XI.
Publications; XII. Historical Essays; XIII. Biographical Files; XIV. Awards;
XV. Guestbooks; XVI. Scrapbooks; XVII. Book; XVIII. Wall Calendar; XIX.
Extension Home Economics; and XX. Architectural Drawings/Book Plans.
Related Materials :
In addition to the records of the College of Home Economics, the
Archives also has institutional records for individual departments in the
college. These departments are: Apparel, Interiors, Housing, and Merchandising
(RG 28); Nutrition and Food Management (RG 217); and Human Development and
Family Sciences (RG 85). The Archives also has records for the School of
Education (RG 184). There are publications and photographic collections for the
College of Home Economics (P 44) and Home Economics Extension (P 115). The
Archives has a number of collections of personal papers and records from alumni
and faculty of the College of Home Economics, including Deans Ava Milam Clark
and Betty Hawthorne. Records from home economic clubs and organizations such
the Oregon Home Economics Association can also be found in the Archives.
Detailed Description of the Collection
Series I: Correspondence, 1917-1995
Container(s)
Description
Accreditation
Box
1
American Home Economics
Association (AHEA), 1967-1985
1
Northwest Association of
Secondary and Higher Schools, 1958-1969
Box
1
African Students, 1957-1963
American Home Economics
Association
Box
1
General, 1955-1970
1
Home Economists in
Business Group, 1956-1968
1
Student
Membership, 1968-1970
1
Alumni Advisory
Council, 1968-1971
1
American Dietetic
Association, 1958-1970
1
American Dietetic Association
Journal Board, 1965-1969
1
Biennial Budget, 1975-1977, 1972-1975
1
Biennial Budget Review Before
the Oregon Legislature, 1970-1971
Background Report for the
Cooperative State Research Service (CSRS) of Research and Graduate Programs at
OSU, 1982
9
Biennial reports, 1930-1956
10
Biennial Reports, 1956-1966, 1968-1987
10
Biennial Reports for Home
Economics Research, 1968-1970, 1970
Committee Reports
Box
10
Public Relations
Committee Student Survey, 1951
10
Various Committee
Reports, 1946-1948
Conference
Proceedings
Box
10
Association of
Administrators of Home Economics and National Council of Administrators of Home
/Economics, 1987
10
Child Development and
Parent Education Conference, 1931
10
Parental
Conference, 1928 (at OSU)
10
Conference Report:
Strengthening Home Economics Research, 1966
10
Conversion to the Early
Semester System (Ad Hoc Committee on Calendar Conversion), 1980
10
CSRS Review of Home Economics
Dept., 1982
10
CSRS Report of Special Review
of College of the Home Economics, 1988
10
CSRS Special Review of
Research and Graduate Programs of College of Home Economics (Background
Reports), 1975, 1988
10
Development of a Training
Program for Project Directors in the Nutrition Program for the
Elderly, 1972
10
Directions for Home Economics
in the 1980s or Will We Still Be Here in 1990?, 1980
10
Educational Exposition:
Exhibits from Home Economics College, 1931
10
Experiment in Varying the
Size of the Group for Home Management House Residence, 1961
10
Facility Needs of the School
of Home Economics in the 1970s, 1970
10
The Factors Influencing
Tenure and Promotion at OSU: A Campus Analysis, 1975
10
The Family, Home Economics,
and the Behavioral Sciences: A Critical Analysis of Home Economics in Higher
Education and a Proposal for a New Direction, 1964
10
Family Resource Management
3-Year Plan, 1985-1988, 1985
10
Field Trip
Reports, 1954, 1962-1970
11
Field Trip
Reports, 1971-1980
11
Final Project Reports: Oregon
Agricultural Experiment Station (OAES) Research, 1969-1974
11
Foods and Nutrition Program
Implementation Plan, 1986
11
Future of Home Economics
(Committee on the Future of Home Economics), 1965
11
Graduate Study and Research
in Portland: A Preliminary Report to the Board (Oregon State System of Higher
Education), 1964
11
HEIB Study (Home Economics in
Business), undated
11
The Home Economics Curricula
in Land Grant Colleges, 1924
Report presented at the Home Economics section of the
Land-Grant College Association Meeting.
11
Home Economics Faculty
Retreat Reports, 1976
11
Home Economics in Land-Grant
Colleges and Universities (American Association of Land-Grant Colleges and
State Universities), 1959
11
Instructional Television at
OSU (OSU Classroom TV Committee), 1966
11
Interrelationship of Food
Systems Management, 1985
Land Grant College Survey:
Home Economics Undergraduate Work, 1928
U.S. Dept. of Interior Bureau of Education survey- 3 "1
duplicate copy" volumes with information compiled about the Dept. and
individually completed forms by staff members.
11
Long-Range Development
Plans, 1972, 1982
11
Long-Range Plans for the
College of Home Economics, 1985-1992
11
A Look At Oregon's Children
(White House Conference on Children and Youth), 1959
11
Oregon State Commission on
the Allocation of Resources, 1976-1979
11
OSU: A Major Research
University, 1984
11
Peace Corps Training Program
Guide, 1963
11
Proceedings Report: Education
for Family Living, Ava Milam, undated
Prepared for the World Federation of Education Association
Conference.
11
A Program of Regional
Research for Food and Nutrition (A Joint Task Force of the Western Association
of Agr. Experiment Station Directors and the USDA), 1969
11
Program Review of the College
of Home Economics to the Provost, 1989
11
Projected Academic Program of
School of Home Economics in 1982, 1972
11
Report of Inner City
Fellowship Experience, 1969
Report by Betty Hawthorne of a month long exploration of Los
Angeles County as a part of an AHEA fellowship.
11
Reports from the
Field, undated
From Ava Milam Clark to Dept., similar to the travel letters
filed in Series I correspondence.
11
School of Home Economics
Program Narrative, 1971
Prepared as a part of an "In depth Profile Study" for use
before the 1971 Legislative Assembly.
11
Self-Evaluation Report
II, 1960
Prepared for Commission on Higher Schools Northwest
Association of Secondary and Higher Schools.
11
Self-Evaluation Reports for
AHEA (including appendices), 1969, 1974
12
Self-Evaluation Reports for
AHEA (including appendices), 1984-1985
12
Self Study: Home Economics
Undergraduate/Graduate Programs, 1976
12
75th Anniversary Committee
Summary Report, 1964
12
Sloan Foundation
Study, 1977
Report on the impact of the Expanded Food and Nutrition
Education Program.
12
Status of Alumnae of the
School of Home Economics, 1940
12
The Study of Public
Elementary and Secondary Education in Oregon, 1950
12
Summary of Grants to School
of Home Economics, 1960-1970, 1970
12
Textiles and Clothing
Research News Notes (Western Region Coordinating Committee WRCC-33 of the
Western Agricultural Experiment Stations), 1988
12
Three-Year Department
Plans, 1984-1987; 1986-1989, 1984, 1986
12
Volunteer Service Program
Proposal, 1974
12
Western Regional Cooperative
Project W-57, 1958-1968
12
Western Regional Research
Institute (WRRI) Conference Reports and Research Proposals, 1967-1970
12
WHERA (Western Home Ec.
Research Administrators) Faculty Research Resources Survey Report, 1984
The Fat Content of Eggs of
Good and Poor Layers of Several Varieties of Chickens, Mary Vernon
Skelton, 1920
17
A Study of Student Mortality
in the School of Home Economics: Oregon State College, 1920-1930, Dorothy S.
Schreiner, 1930
17
A Study of Expenditures of
Home Economics Freshman at Oregon State Agricultural College, 1930-1933, Mary
Little Thomas, 1933
17
Clothing and Textiles Class
Papers-Unknown Writers, 1938-1955
17
Untitled Paper on Dress Codes
and Values in Nazarene Community, Elaine Carlson, 1958
17
Interactions of Three Ancient
Civilizations: Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Crete, Elaine Carlson, 1969
17
Portfolio Folder #1 for
History of Costume Class (T. C. 431), Elaine Carlson, 1969
17
Committee on Better Advising:
Final Report, 1970
A report on the results of a survey on the counseling and
advising procedures at OSU compiled and submitted by students for credit in a
G.E. 407c class.
17
Analysis of Home-Making
Education in Siam and Recommendation for Future Program/Teacher's Day in Siam,
C. Prabha, undated
17
The Art of Good Grooming,
Freida Mae Bennett, undated
17
The Outlook of Home Economics
Education in China, Cynthia Fang, undated
American Home Economics
Association, 50th Anniversary, 1959
17
Clark, Ava
Milam, 1927-1952
17
Oregon State College
Nursery School, 1940-1945
Brochures
Box
17
Careers in Home
Economics, 1965-1969
17
Conferences and Lectures
at OSU Sponsored by College of Home Ec., 1967-1981
17
Entrance Necessities for
School of Domestic Science and Art (Home Ec.), 1913
17
Foreign Recipes (Cookbook
published by OSU Chapter of Omicron Nu), 1928
17
General, 1962
17
Gerontological
Conferences, Programs, and Workshops, 1971-1972
17
Home Economics Education
Research, 1955
17
Home Economics Nursery
Schools, undated
17
Mademoiselle Magazine
Career Information Pamphlets, 1968-1972
Box
17
Food Study Manual, Helen
Charly. (First and third editions), 1961, 1982
17
Guide: To Effective Project
Operations. The Nutrition Program for the Elderly (U.S. Dept. of Health,
Education, and Welfare-Administration on Aging), 1973
18
Handbook for Site Operations:
The Nutrition Program for the Elderly, 1975
The House
2 volumes
Box
18
I. Planning and
Construction Principles
18
II. Utilities,
Furnishings, and Maintenance
18
Oregon State Monthly (School
of Home Economics Edition), October 1936
18
Poster: Graduate Studies in
Home Economics at OSU, 1983
19
Poster: People Helping People
(75th Anniversary of the OSU Extension Service), 1986
apx 20x24 in.
18
Titles of Completed Theses in
Home Economics and Related Fields in Colleges and Universities of the U.S.
(U.S. Dept. of Agriculture), 1957-1962, 1958-1963
