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History | Mission | Core KQIs | Department | Early Care and Education Lab Center
The Family and Consumer Sciences department began at Northwest in 1908 as Domestic Science. The program, under the direction of Hettie Margaret Anthony, soon became known as Home Economics. In the early years the program was designed to prepare high school home economics teachers and to improve young women's skills in home making.
In 1922 Mabel Cook, a student in the department, suggested forming a club. With the enthusiasm and hard work of the students, and the expertise and capability of Miss Anthony, Kappa Omicron Phi Honor Society was formed. This organization soon became a national honor society with a nationally recognized reputation for promoting the scholarly pursuits of the profession of Home Economics. In 1990 Kappa Omicron Phi and Omicron Nu, National Home Economics Honor Society for Land Grant Institutions, consolidated into one organization and became known as Kappa Omicron Nu.
In the late 1960's, when Home Economics began to emphasize specialized preparation for professionals, the curriculum at Northwest began to add specialized majors. In 1990, the department changed its name to Human Environmental Sciences to identify the specialized focus of programs designed to serve families in the environment of modern society.
Today the department offers programs to prepare individuals for careers in Child and Family Studies, Foods and Nutrition, Merchandising of Textiles, Apparel, and Furnishings, and Family and Consumer Sciences Education. The department currently enrolls over 200 students in the various majors. In November of 1999 the Board of Regents approved Family and Consumer Sciences as the departmental name. Programs in the department are fully accredited by the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. The accreditation has been maintained since 1974.
Miss Anthony served as department chair from 1908 to 1948. Dr June Cozine, a former student of Miss Anthony's, assumed the chair position from 1948 to 1955. Mabel Cook, the originator of the idea for Kappa Omicron Phi, chaired the department from 1955 to 1971. Dr. Margaret Briggs came to northwest as department chair from 1971 to 1978. Dr. Frances Shipley, current chair, began her responsibilities as chair in 1978.
The Department of Family and Consumer Sciences engages in the scholarship of teaching, discovery and outreach with the ultimate goal of sustaining and enhancing the quality of life for individuals and families in a complex and dynamic world. The department prepares students for careers in child and family studies; foods and nutrition; merchandising of textiles, apparel, and furnishings; family and consumer sciences education; and for graduate education in these and other related areas. Educational experiences offer many opportunities to bridge theory to practice through laboratories, supervised practica, internships and departmental organizations.
The Family and Consumer Sciences Department coursework focuses on integrating and enhancing the University-wide Key Quality Indicators, to insure the optimum development of these skills and qualities at the completion of the baccalaureate degree. These KQIs are:
The Family and Consumer Sciences Department students, faculty and advisory committee have validated six additional KQIs which all students completing majors in the department need to achieve to function effectively in their professional roles in Family and Consumer Sciences core KQIs are:
The Family and Consumer Sciences Department has identified and validated Key Quality Indicators specific to each major. These will be found on the syllabi for individual courses.
Classrooms and most laboratory space are located on the third floor of the Administration Building, and in the Early Care and Education Lab Center, located in the lower level of Brown Hall. Laboratory facilities for Quantity Food Preparation, FCS 332, and Advanced Food Service Management, FCS 430, classes are located in the J.W. Jones Student Union and Conference Center facilities.
The interdisciplinary Early Care and Education Lab Center is a cooperative project of the departments of Curriculum/Instruction and Family and Consumer Sciences. The Early Care and Education Lab Center is a "living laboratory" located within the Horace Mann School in Brown Hall.
The center features laboratories for nursery school, pre-kindergarten, kindergarten, child care, and after-school child care. The facility is equipped with observation rooms, including two-way mirrors for unobtrusive observation. Students in Family and Consumer Sciences' Child and Family Studies classes use this as a laboratory for their class work.
For more information contact:
Family and Consumer Sciences
Northwest Missouri State University
800 University Drive
Maryville, MO 64468-6001
Phone: 660.562.1168
E-mail: shipley@nwmissouri.edu