Coming of Age — Part 5
A service project by human development and family studies professor
David Riley targets a different audience — parents of newborns
and toddlers throughout the world. Riley, along with UW Extension,
developed a series of instructional newsletters mailed monthly to
parents with infants. As "just in time" bulletins, the
newsletters present parenting tips and information on infant development
that's specific to certain ages.
Started in 1982, the newsletter now reaches more than forty thousand
Wisconsin families with babies under one year old. About fifty thousand
families in the state with children between one and three years
old also receive the bulletin. Parents in fifteen other states,
parts of Canada, and cities in Great Britain also receive it. Plus,
English and Spanish versions are available on the Internet. The
latter version, says Riley, receives about three hundred hits per
day from Latin America.
"The original goal of the parenting newsletter was to provide
tips to parents in rural Wisconsin who were isolated from centers
or resources," says Riley. "Combine the newsletter with
its online presence, and suddenly we end up serving the whole world."
In a renewed effort to match its name to its far-reaching mission
and interdisciplinary identity, the school underwent its most recent
name change in 1996. It became the School of Human Ecology.
"Part of the reason for all the name changes is to differentiate
ourselves from vocational training," says Douthitt. "When
people hear home economics, they think high school home economics."
But another important rationale for switching names was to align
the school with similar programs at other institutions that vie
for the same students and faculty, adds the dean. SoHE's competitors
include Cornell University, the University of Minnesota, Penn State
University, and Ohio State University.
Although the school now occupies all of the building it originally
shared with UW Extension, plus the old practice cottage, the growing
number of students, faculty, and their related research stretches
the school's seams. Plans are under way to redesign the current
building, establishing more space for projects. Douthitt expects
this endeavor to raise the school's profile even more.
"Our faculty have spider legs across campus," she says.
"While they and their research may be well known, their home
base is not." She explains that the researchers, squeezed for
space at SoHE, have established projects and centers elsewhere on
campus. "What we're trying to do is bring resources back to
the school so faculty can conduct their work here. Our research
will be far more visible that way than having it diffuse on campus,"
she says.
During this remodeling, the Preschool Laboratory will expand into
a more modern learning environment, as well as an updated research
facility. "It'd be great to see a modern facility so the next
generation of early childhood research can occur," says Seth
Pollak, a UW-Madison psychology professor who studies emotional
development. More than eight of his research projects have involved
children who have attended
the preschool.
Whether outsiders looking into the school recognize all its depth
may be beside the point. What counts, however, are the contributions
it has made and continues to make to its students — may they
be preschoolers or undergraduates — and society at large.
Over the years, SoHE has trained teachers, researchers, and entrepreneurs.
Its commitment to improving human life has been achieved every day
for the last one hundred years through research and service-learning
projects.
"We're brought together by our mission of trying to enhance
the quality of life," says Douthitt. "We're directed by
our strong interests in teaching and research."
In the coming years, the school will continue to grow and evolve.
Perhaps its name will change again or it will incorporate more majors
into its overall curriculum. Perhaps passersby peeking through the
windows of the new building will witness all the school's dimensions.
But one thing is certain: the school, whatever it's called or wherever
it's housed, will shape the lives of the next generation of people
who step inside.
Emily Carlson doesn't remember what she learned
in preschool, but she does know she had a blast catching ladybugs
and pretending to cook.
1, 2, 3,
4, 5
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