Happy Birthday! The College of Family and Consumer Science is 125 years old.

Today in the LeBaron Lounge from 10 a.m.-noon the college will be hosting an open house in honor of the celebration.

There will cake and refreshments served while students from the textiles and clothing department showcase period clothing from the 1800s. There will be a display of the current activities in which students participate when they take the textiles and clothing classes.

The college was founded in 1871 with the ladies course, a class exclusively for women, as the first course offered in the college. It was the first home economics college in the nation founded by a land-grant university.

Mary B. Welch, founder of the program, and wife of Adonijah Welch, the first president of ISU, decided women needed programs specifically designed for them.

ISU has always had women enrolled, but they had to take the same classes the men did.

She realized the women were just “not happy” so she took action.

The college started admitting men in the 1950s.

Mary Jo Glanville, communications specialist for the college, said, “Our male enrollment has remained pretty steady at 17 percent throughout the years, and we have male students active in all five departments.”

Nick Grall, freshman in family and consumer science education, said, “I think the college has made a lot of progress in the last 100 years. ISU has been very supportive of the college and is continuing their [progress].”

On being a male in a traditionally female college, Grall said, “I don’t get much heat from anyone in college. Men are equally active in the departments just as much as women, and I could see where guys would take some slack from classmates in high school wanting to go into this field.”

In 1987 the College of Home Economics decided to change its name to the College of Family and Consumer Sciences because it felt the need to broaden the description of the program to the public.

The majors the college offers today are nothing like the majors offered 125 years ago. They are much more specific and give students a better understanding to what is out there, Glanville said.

Today’s majors include: hotel and restaurant management, child and family resource management and consumer science, family and consumer education, dietetics, early childhood education, apparel merchandising, design and production, food science, housing in the near environment, nutritional science and studies in family and consumer science.

There are about 1,400 students enrolled in the college. While most of them are in the family and consumer education department, Glanville said, “We also have over 21,000 alumni and that is very impressive.”

The college invites everyone to attend to the birthday party.

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College of Family and Consumer Sciences Timeline

1871 College was founded by Mary B. Welch, wife of ISU’s first president, Adonijah Welch

1950 College starts admitting men

1987 College of Home Economics changes name to College of Family and Consumer Sciences

1996 College turns 125 years old