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xvi | The Challenge of Constantly Changing Times
Acknowledgments
As with any such project, this book owes its existence to the many
people who have supported it over several years. It is my pleasure to
publicly acknowledge their support and thank them for their
assistance. First I must thank Dean Robin A. Douthitt. It is from
her vision that the idea developed for a book as a celebration of the
centennial of the School of Human Ecology. Throughout the last
several years, she has been unstinting with her support, both financial
and otherwise. The funding for much of the research has come from
the Ruth Dickie History of Women in Home Economics Fund. I
am most grateful to the late Ruth Dickie for her enthusiasm for the
history of women in science and in home economics and for her
foresight in establishing a fund that enabled us to complete this
history. I also thank Ann Neviaser for underwriting the publication
of this book.
The research for this volume has been enriched with the work
of other scholars. Though many are cited in the text, I would like
to single out a few for special recognition. First of all is the late
Professor Beatrice Petrich. For many years Bea assembled historical
materials and then compiled a brief history of the School up to
1939. These materials are now housed in the University of
Wisconsin Archives and are available to scholars. Marjorie Pfeifer
has been a wealth of knowledge about student affairs. In addition,
her collection of School catalogs, which enabled a better assessment
of curricular and social changes in the School, has been invaluable.
I am also indebted to the students of Consumer Science 501: Archival
Research in the History of Home Economics, held in spring 2002.
This class-Susan R. King, Andrea Kolasinski, Judith E. Pasch,
Hunter Tjugum, and Greta Marie Zenner, and Joyce E. Coleman,
teaching assistant-- was truly a collaborative effort among students
and instructors. The students' enthusiasm for the history of the