Use Restrictions

Copyright for materials authored or otherwise produced as official business of James Madison University is retained by James Madison University. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information, contact the Special Collections Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Access Restrictions

Collection open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Preferred Citation

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Department of Living Sciences Records, circa 1915-2003, UA 0057, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Administrative records and photographs documenting the home economics/living sciences department were transferred in 1991. The materials related to the student organizations were physically transferred to Special Collections in 2016 by Dr. Danielle Torisky, professor of dietetics. A transfer agreement was retroactively signed in August 2022.

Processing Information

Meeting minutes and other administrative files were removed from binders and other bulky or acidic enclosures.

The collection was briefly titled Home Economics Student Organization Records before the incorporation of accession LS 91-0904 in January 2023.

LS 91-0904 was minimally processed with limited description after being transferred to Special Collections in 1991. These records, comprising administrative records and photographs, were minimally reprocessed to reflect more accurate and descriptive groupings. They were added to the home economics student organizations records due to their creation by the same administrative body. The accession information for LS 91-0904 refers to two scrapbooks, but given the absence of physical scrapbooks, these were likely disassembled with their contents photocopied or removed and placed into folders.

Appraisal

Much of Danielle Torisky's research material for her publication "History of Dining Services at James Madison University," which largely comprised photocopies, were not retained. Only a representative sample of published materials, cook books, and department reference books were retained. The remaining books, comprising widely available, mass produced, and/or out of scope publications, were not retained. A file of Phi Omicron Tau bank statements was not retained. Two plaques for Outstanding Home Economics students were not retained. The club's Betty lamp was not retained and was returned to Danielle Torisky.

Administrative History

The State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg was one of the first institutions of higher learning in Virginia to emphasize a home economics education. Home economics, also known as household arts, was deemed an essential component of a good public school education for women along with agriculture and trades. By 1918, the school began receiving federal funding as part of the Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act to train teachers and supervisors of home economics. Two student organizations, Frances Sale Club and Phi Omicron Tau, were affiliated with the department though both were likely dissolved in the early 1990s.

Early courses in home economics covered sewing and textiles, cooking, home cleaning, home nursing, home furnishing and decoration, design, household mechanics, and millinery. The curriculum later included dietetics and child development. Notable faculty included Frances Sale, the school's first home economics instructor; Pearl Moody, head of the home economics department; Bernice Varner, dean of women and head of the home economics department; and Dorothy Rowe ('50), alumna and head of the home economics department. Over time the home economics curriculum was part of the following departments: Household Arts, Department of Home Economics, Department of Living Sciences, Dietetics, and Department of Health Professions.

Scope and Contents

The Department of Living Sciences Records, circa 1915-2003, comprise the administrative files, photographs, and scrapbooks documenting the activities of the Department of Living Sciences and affiliated student organizations (Frances Sale Club and Phi Omicron Tau) at James Madison University. The collection includes meeting minutes, annual reports, course information, student organization membership lists, financial records, loose photographs of students and faculty, and scrapbooks of photographs and printed ephemera.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged into three series:

Separated Material

Printed materials were separated from the collection and cataloged as part of Special Collections rare book holdings.

Files related to Danielle Torisky's "A History of Dining Services at James Madison University" (2007), completed as part of a Burruss research grant in JMU history, as well as her collection of Dining Services at JMU Oral Histories (SdArch 36) were added to Special Collections control files.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Administrative records
• Annual reports
• Greek letter societies
• Home economics -- Study and teaching (Higher) -- Virginia -- Harrisonburg
• James Madison University -- History
• James Madison University -- Societies, etc.
• James Madison University -- Students
• James Madison University. Department of Health Professions
• James Madison University. Department of Home Economics
• James Madison University. Department of Living Sciences
• Madison College -- History
• Madison College -- Societies, etc.
• Madison College -- Students
• Madison College. Department of Home Economics
• Membership lists
• Minutes (administrative records)
• Photographs
• Scrapbooks
• Torisky, Danielle