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Coming of Age — Part 4
Looking back on its history, Douthitt says, "Our legacy would
have been different had we not become part of the agricultural school."
But she admits that the program's independence marked a significant
moment in the school's history. "Autonomy was important symbolically,"
she says. "We had always been looked upon as a women's program
and seen as being incapable of running it. For the program to be
autonomous and not perceived — whether real or not —
as needing oversight by a predominantly male unit was a good thing."
However, one of the disadvantages of such independence, says Douthitt,
is that the foods and nutrition program — originally part
of the home economics department — remained part of the agriculture
school, which by then had been renamed the College of Agricultural
and Life Sciences.
"Most universities have foods and nutrition in human ecology,"
explains Douthitt. "This made our curriculum less interdisciplinary."
It might have lost a discipline or two, but the school's curriculum
became even more diverse. With the focus shifting from vocational
to professional training, courses reached into new academic areas,
including financial planning and consumer economics. In 1961, the
school offered twelve majors. Its department gained more independence
in developing curricula, resulting in coursework geared toward specialties,
such as interior and textile design. Beginning in the 1960s, the
core curriculum included twelve credits of science-related courses.
Today, students are required to take just nine.
"We're training fewer generalists than before, because that's
what the market demands," says Douthitt.
The school has consolidated some of these majors. It now offers
eight majors in retailing, consumer science (including personal
finance and consumer affairs), textile and apparel design, interior
design, family and consumer journalism, human development and family
studies (with child development and family studies), human ecology,
and family and consumer education. The majors span five departments:
consumer science; environment, textiles and design; family and consumer
communications; human development and family studies; and interdisciplinary
studies.
These specialties, then and now, bring together faculty from a
range of disciplines, often leading to unique interdisciplinary
projects.
"I used to kid former Chancellor David Ward that he got the
idea of the 'cluster hire' from us. We have always brought people
together from many different disciplines," says Douthitt. Smiling,
she adds, "We're delighted to see the rest of the campus doing
it."
Along with more specialized research interests, new outreach efforts
to improve the lives of women, along with their families, have emerged.
While some reach only the university community, others reach globally.
In 1989, Douthitt, then an assistant professor of consumer science,
helped to launch the Women Faculty Mentoring Program at UW-Madison.
After learning through a research survey that female faculty members
were twice as likely to resign as their male counterparts, Douthitt
mailed letters to junior and senior women faculty asking if they
would like to participate in a program designed to support the female
teaching community at the university.
"I was bombarded with positive responses," recalls the
dean. When the group gathered for its first meeting at the University
Club, "the room was filled," she recollects. "Everyone
just stood and smiled. It was the first time women faculty had come
together," Today, the program includes about one hundred mentoring
pairs.
1, 2, 3,
4, 5
On Wisconsin Home
Page
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Coming of Age
- Parents of newborns and toddlers can access Professor David
Riley's research-based advice by reading his instructional
newsletters.
- In 2003, the School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison
will mark its 100th
anniversary. Learn about the people and events that made the
school the vibrant educational and research institution it is
today
- Trace the history
of human ecology through archival material from one of SoHE's
competitors for students, Cornell University.
Fall 2003 Features
Alumni News
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