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Ellen S. Richards
1842-1911
Richards is known as the "founder of Home Economics" and that is just the beginning. She was the first woman to graduate from MIT, she started the school lunch program in 1894, and she scientifically prepared lunches for the World's Fair. -
W.O. Atwater
1844-1907
Atwater is considered to be the "Father of Nutrition." He obtained a PhD in Chemistry from Yale University, wrote nutrition bulletins at Richards requests, and he invented the Bomb Calorimeter. -
Isaac Singer
1811-1875
Isaac Singer invented the Singer sewing machine that operated at 900 stiches per minute in the year 1850. In 1857, he partnered up with Edward Clark and created I.M. Singer and Company and just a few years later in 1860 it was the largest sewing machine manufacturer in the world. This is very important to FACS because sewing is what people think of when they think of FACS. -
Morrill Act of 1862
The Morrill Act of 1862 created land grant institutions so that the working-class citizens could have equal access to higher education but do so with an emphasis on farming and vocational skills. -
Land Grant Universities
1862-1962
A land grant university is an institution that provides research-based programs and resources for residents within their states. This included agriculture and home economics. -
Martha Rensselaer
1864-1932
Rensselaer was Cornell University Professor at a time when that was basically unheard of. She also developed the Cooperative Extension Service at Cornell University, 1900, while also being the President of AAFC -
CF Langworthy
1864-1932
Langworthy was a Co-editor of the Journal of Home Economics. He conducted metabolic tests and studied the chemical composition of food. -
Clara Belle Drisdale Williams
1885-1993
She was the first African American to graduate from New Mexico State University, but she was not allowed to walk at graduation. She became a teacher to black students during the day and taught their parents at night. She was awarded an honorary doctorate degree from New Mexico State University. -
The Rumford Kitchen
At the World's Fair in Boston, Massachusetts in 1894, the Rumford Kitchen opened up as part of the exhibit of Massachusetts, in connection with the Bureau of Hygiene and Sanitation. This exhibit was led by Mrs. Ellen S. Richards. In the months that stand was open, they served ten thousand people but not in hopes of making money but that the exhibit was scientific and educationally based. -
Lake Placid Conference
This is where eleven leaders gathered in Lake Placid, NY and decided the name that they would use for their field. This was a very important meeting for our organization. -
American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences AAFCS
The AAFCS has a mission of providing leadership and support for professionals whose work assists individuals, families, and communities in making informed decisions. They are based out of Alexandria, Virgina. -
American Home Economics Association
American Home Economics Association (AHEA) was the original organization for consumer sciences. Ellen S. Richards was elected the first president of the organization. -
Land Grant Universities of Arkansas
In the State of Arkansas, the two Land Grant Universities are The University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 set this in motion with the purpose of providing available, research-based programs and resources to communities and individuals within a state. -
Smith-Lever Act of 1914
The Smith Lever Act of 1914 is responsible for creating the Cooperative Extension Services that is associated with the Land Grant Institutions of each state. This act provided agricultural colleges in each state. -
Smith Hughes Act of 1917
The Smith Hughes Act of 1917 was formally known as the National Vocational Education Act. This Act provided federal aid to state with the purpose of promoting vocational education, which included agriculture and home economics. -
The Betty Lamp
The Betty Lamp was the symbol for the AHEA, Amercian Home Economics Association, because it meant to make better. Much like the AHEA's goal was to advocate for consumer sciences education. -
Erik Erikson: Childhood and Society
Erik Erikson published his book, "Childhood and Society", in the year 1950. This book covers his theory that children have psycho-social development stages. This theory has held the test of time and is still used today! -
Margaret McCready
Margaret McCready argued that educating boys in the topic of home economics could be beneficial. It would help them in the future to know how a household was run and how to share the responsibilities of the home. This way an important discussion to have because it was so modern for its time. She was part of the Candian Home Economics Society. -
The Vocational Education Act of 1963
This act was enacted by congress to expand vocational training. This act was for all ages and skill level, in both rural and urban areas. This act ensured that the skills that were needed at a local level were being taught to those who could fulfill the need. -
Vocational Amendment of 1968
The Vocational Amendment of 1968 are an extension of the Vocational Education act of 1963. However, rather than focus on the occupations and training they focused on the people. Part of this funding allowed permanent programs in vocational careers and homemaking education. States who were participating in this program had to meet certain requirements in order to receive the funds. -
Vocational Amendment 1976
The main purpose of this act was to extend and maintain the programs that had already been established, overcome sex discriminations or bias, and develop new programs. The funding of this act had to be spent on vocational education programs and that included homemaking. -
The Carl Perkins Act
The Carl Perkins act was established to better improve the career technical education programs, serve special populations, and create address gender equity needs, -
Nancy Bock
Nancy Bock is the Executive Director of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. Our national organization