The research of Cornell home economists was multifaceted, ranging from bacteriology to human behavior. Faculty members from the college developed innovations in food conservation and preparation, product and housing design, textiles, home management and budgeting, as well as new scientific ideas about child development. Early home economists worked in laboratories, in the field doing research, and in an on-site nursery school where they used moving pictures to document child behavior.

Sources of funding always influenced the direction and focus of their research. Beginning in 1914, the Smith-Lever Act stimulated activity with a mandate to give instruction in home economics across the nation. The Purnell Act of 1925 provided federal money to facilitate the scientific investigation of vitamins and rural-home-management studies; and in 1929, New York State established funds for research in the economics of the household. In 1935, in the midst of the Great Depression, the Bankhead-Jones Act supplied federal money for the study of human nutritional needs.

In addition to these public sources, beginning in 1925, significant grants to Cornell from the Laura Spellman Rockefeller Memorial spurred empirical research in child health, behavior, and guidance. Featured here are seven faculty members whose research reflects the breadth of scholarship in home economics before World War II.

Human Nutrition

This 1943 bulletin was based on the results of several years of scientific research in human nutrition. Faith Fenton received her Ph.D. from the University of Chicago and was a pioneer in research on food freezing and vitamin retention. Fenton served in the College of Home Economics from 1922 until 1959.

Child Development

This 1939 bulletin by Ethel Waring consolidated a decade's worth of her scientific study of normative child development. Waring received her Ph.D. from Columbia University Teachers College in 1927, and served in the College of Home Economics from 1927 until 1955, making important contributions to the fields of child development and family relationships.

Consumer Economics

Helen Canon's 1916 bulletin, written in collaboration with Lucile Brewer, argued not only for the consumption of dandelions by rural families but also for their use as a cash crop to supplement household income. Canon's affiliation with Cornell began in 1915. She received her Ph.D. from Cornell in 1930, at which time she joined the faculty of the College of Home Economics. Canon retired in 1952 after thirty-seven years of service.

Textiles & Clothing

This is a 1916 photo of the clothing laboratory used by Beulah Blackmore to teach her classes after she came to Cornell. Blackmore received her B.S. from Teachers College, Columbia University and served on the Cornell Home Economics faculty from 1915 until 1951. Blackmore established a costume shop and a collection of historic and native costumes. She also conducted research on the performance and durability of textiles and the psychological aspects of clothing.

Institution Management

Katharine Harris's (1899 - 1954) article, "Careers in Home Economics," published in 1946 in What's New in Home Economics, highlighted both her experience as a home economist and the broadening range of career opportunities that were available to women in the field, especially in research and education. Harris received her M.A. from Teachers College, Columbia University in 1937. She retired from Cornell in 1954 after twenty-seven years of service. Harris was nationally known for her part in developing curricula in institutional management at the university level and for creating a research program.

Household Management

This 1933 bulletin by Ella Cushman presented valuable suggestions for increasing household efficiency with a limited income. Cushman received her M.S. from Cornell in 1928 and focused her research on optimum expenditure of time, energy, and money in households with various income levels. She retired from Cornell in 1954 after twenty-eight years of service.

Architecture & Interior Design