From Homemaking to Global Industry Professionals in Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies

Students setting the table during their internship
at the Home Management House, circa 1940s

The Department of Consumer, Apparel, and Retail Studies (CARS), as it is now known, can be traced to the earliest days of State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG). In 1892, the founder of UNCG, Dr. Charles D. McIver, envisioned a college for women that would not only prepare students for careers in teaching or business but would also foster their development as wives and mothers. Antiquated as that latter goal may seem now, from the earliest days of classes on the State Normal campus, young women were engaged in the study of foods and cooking as well as learning how to sew and make clothing. 

Students draping a model, ca. 1950

As soon as 1904, students could even major in Domestic Arts, which included studies in clothing and textiles. The Department of Clothing and Textiles and Housing, established in 1917, has evolved quite significantly over the twentieth century and even celebrated its 100th year as a department on campus in 2017. In its earliest manifestation, the CARS department offered courses in sewing, design, textiles, color, textiles manufacturing, historic textiles, and millinery.

During the 1920s, as many buildings were constructed on campus, a Home Management House was built on McIver Street in 1922 and the Home Economics building was constructed in 1928. The Home Management House was developed as a place for what would now be called experiential learning. Students could put into practice the skills they were learning in their courses, whether cooking, sewing, child care, decorating, or financial management.

The first Bachelor of Science Degree in Home Economics was awarded in 1922 and the first Master of Science Degree in Home Economics was bestowed in 1928. The 1937 College Catalog, included a description of some of the courses offered, including Problems of Family Finance, Advanced Home Furnishing, Home Relationships, and Food Selection and Preparation.

Design student with a drawing,
ca. 1950

During the early 1940s, a second Home Management House was built on West Market Street and became part of the home economics curriculum. The program goals were explained as: "A six weeks period of residence in a home management house is required of all seniors in home economics. It is the culmination of four years study of theory--a practical unifying experience. Each girl has the opportunity to evaluate the house as a satisfactory back ground for enriched family life. The choice, arrangement, care and use of equipment is planned with the purpose of making an efficient, attractive and liveable home." [sic]

CARS became the Area of Clothing and Textiles in 1936 and, in 1975, was renamed again to the Department of Clothing and Textiles. In 1997, as the department experienced another transformation, it was renamed the Department of Textile Products Design and Marketing.

Students hanging curtains during their internship
at the Home Management House, ca. 1940s

Over the course of the twentieth century, the field of Home Economics diversified dramatically and now extends well beyond its origins of training for women in homemaking skills. Fields of study that may have traditionally fallen under the heading of Home Economics are now represented by distinct departments at UNC Greensboro, including degree programs in Economics, Education, Human Development & Family Studies, Nutrition, Public Health Education, and CARS.

CARS has evolved into a strong academic program preparing students for careers in apparel design, retail and consumer studies, and global apparel and related industries. In 1995, the department was selected for the Award of Excellence by the American Textile Manufacturers' Institute for the outstanding curriculum as well as for faculty and student work with industry professionals. CARS has enjoyed involvement of industry leaders such as Cone Mills (based in Greensboro until its disestablishment in 2004), VF Corporation, Burlington Industries, and various others in the Triad area through an industry advisory board as
well as through scholarships, internships, tours, and lectures.

Home Management House on McIver Street, ca. 1922

As of June 2018, "CARS ranks No. 4 among fashion merchandising programs at public and private universities in the South and is one of the top 15 programs at public universities across the nation for fashion merchandising. The rankings are based on academic reputation, admission selectivity, depth and value of program and geographic location." From its humble beginnings in 1892, CARS has become a nationally recognized academic program preparing students for professional careers around the world.

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Sources:

Harrison, E. L. (2018, June 27). UNGGNow. Retrieved July 3, 2019, from https://newsandfeatures.uncg.edu/cars-top-ranked-fashion-merchandising/

Unknown author (2006). History of the Department of Textile Products Design and Marketing. Retrieved August 10, 2006, from http://www.uncg.edu/tdm/tdm_department/dept_history.html
Copy of article obtained from Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives.

The Road that Divided the Campus - Walker Avenue and its closing

From the earliest days of the school, Walker Avenue had bisected campus, forcing students to cross the busy street (often multiple times daily) to access buildings on both sides. The dining halls, science building, home economics building, gymnasium, and many residence halls were all located north of Walker, while the library, Curry, McIver Memorial, student’s building, auditorium, and the administration building were all located south of Walker.

1943 Map of Woman's Collage campus showing buildings bisected by Walker Avenue

The only safe crossing of the busy avenue was at College Avenue.  Over the years, students would cross Walker Ave. via a succession of bridges built to enable foot traffic on College Ave. (running north and south). The bridges were constructed of wood, then iron, and finally concrete in 1928.

1920 aerial view of College Avenue with bridge over Walker Avenue

Walker Ave. became an increasing busy thoroughfare for autos during the 1940s, a situation that only got worse with the post-war boom. Indeed, Walker Ave. was one of the best east west corridors for residents on the western side of Greensboro seeking to drive to the city center.

So, the stage was set for an impasse when Woman’s College building plans included closing the part of Walker Ave. that bisected the heart of its campus, while the city’s residents wanted to maintain Walker Ave. as way to get to downtown from west Greensboro. In 1945, The Board of Trustees approved a plan of building expansion (more than $3,000,000 to be set aside for buildings) for the school that required Walker Ave. be closed, but they did not have the authority to do so.1 Indeed, the plan sited two new buildings, the library (now Walter Clinton Jackson Library) and an expansion to the home economics building (now Stone Building) directly astride the existing Walker Ave. The Greensboro City Council initially denied the request to close Walker Ave. in August of 1945. Next followed suggestions from closure opponents that the school expand westward or even that a 1,350 foot tunnel should be built from Tate St. to a point between Kenilworth and Stirling Streets.2 Westward expansion would not solve the problem of students needing to cross busy Walker Ave. (nor would it allow for the planned library and home economics building expansion) and it was not expected that the state would furnish another $1,000,000 (the estimated cost of the tunnel) to the millions already proposed to the school for expansion. Thus, the tunnel proposal died.

Image used by Dr. W.C. Jackson to promote WC campus after Walker Ave. closure

Still, proponents of the closure of Walker Ave. including Dr. Frank Porter Graham (president of the Consolidated University of North Carolina) W.D. Carmichael, Jr. (comptroller of the University of North Carolina) and Walter Clinton Jackson (chancellor of Woman’s College) among others, worked hard to convince Greensboro and the council to reconsider the closure of Walker Ave. Most arguments were centered around Woman’s College role in the Consolidated University of North Carolina (with Chapel Hill and NC State) and its role as a preeminent school for the education of women. Dr. Graham called Woman’s College the “greatest asset in the building of a greater Greensboro,” and cited closure of Walker Ave. as the “keystone in the college’s great plan for the future.” Carmichael warned that keeping Walker Ave. would block Woman’s College expansion plans and the institution would have no chance to remain competitive with other women’s colleges for growth.3 In a publication to the Greensboro City Council, Dr. Jackson said, “The authorities of the College have made plans for going forward in making this the great institution that it and Greensboro and the State deserve. They are planning great things. They are looking far ahead. They are thinking of the College as it shall be 25 and 50 years from now….It is of the highest importance that the campus we are planning should be a complete unit. The indispensable and fundamental change necessary in carrying out these plans is the closing of Walker Avenue from McIver Street to Forest Avenue.4

Bulldozer breaking up Walker Ave. near the College Ave. bridge

Eventually, the proponents for Walker Ave. closing won out. On June 7^th, 1947, the City Council adopted a resolution setting the closing of Walker Ave. through Woman’s College on the date that the space was needed for actual construction of a building bridging the avenue. At 1pm on September 24, 1948, barricades were placed on Walker Ave. and work started a few days later on the Library which sits on the former site of Walker Ave.5

**Look for a future post showcasing views of the College Avenue bridge used to cross Walker Avenue!**

1- W.C. Jackson to City Council of Greensboro, March 5, 1946
2-"City Authorities Offer Avenue Tunnel Project" Greensboro Daily News, February 26, 1946
3-"College Request for Closing Street Taken under Advisement by Council" Greensboro Daily News, March 6, 1946 **Special thanks to Mark Schumacher for help in tracking down the date of this article!**
4-W.C. Jackson to City Council of Greensboro, March 5, 1946
5-"Walker Avenue Closed Today" Greensboro Daily News, September 24, 1948

A "Most Unfortunate Experience:" Cars on Campus in 1928

The 1928 Student Handbook, which was distributed to all students attending the North Carolina College for Women (now UNCG), clearly listed the regulations that heavily impacted student life on campus. From mandating quiet hours to setting curfews to limiting students’ ability to travel off campus, these regulations were enforced by the Student Government Association along with the campus administration. One section of the regulations made clear the rules regarding riding in cars. Section VI, Rule 1 stated that “no student may ride at any time without permission from her Counselor, and a riding permission from her parents or guardian.” Further rules in Section VI of the regulations stated that “no student may keep a car on campus except Seniors during commencement” and that “no student may drive a car in Greensboro except when the car belongs to her immediate family.”

College Avenue (circa 1930) with a few cars that definitely didn't belong to students

In February 1928, an incident occurred which resulted in six NCCW students coming before the Student Government Association with charges of violating these regulations. According to the investigation that was carried out by SGA and a May 3 letter from President Julius Foust, six students pooled their money and purchased a “Ford machine” (likely a Model T or possibly a new Model A). They “hid it somewhere in Greensboro, taking rides occasionally in it without the consent or knowledge of the authorities of the college.” They were able to hide their automobile ownership for an undisclosed period of time.

It was only when they were in involved in an accident that their rule-breaking was discovered. On February 9, 1928, the students were travelling outside of Greensboro when they were involved in a serious wreck. According to a February 14 letter from college Vice President Walter Clinton Jackson to the mother of one of the students involved, “five of the girls were in the car on a road some seventeen or eighteen miles from Greensboro when they lost control of the car while going at high speed and it crashed into a telephone pole … One of the girls was rather seriously injured, and all of them I understand were shocked and more or less shaken up. It was only by a miracle that any of them escaped fatal injury” (side note: none of the reports mention alcohol being a factor and, as this was at the height of Prohibition, that certainly would have caused additional scandal).

President Julius Foust

The Student Government deliberated about their wrongdoings and decided to impose a thirty-day suspension for all of the student involved. But President Foust determined that their offense warranted a greater punishment. He surveyed the faculty members who worked with the students, asking them to provide him with a statement addressing each of the students’ “ability, her attitude towards her work with you, the character of work she has been doing for you, and whether or not she can probably or possibly pass the semester’s work under you if she is permitted to return to the college at the end of a month’s suspension.” In regards to one of the students involved, Professor J.C. Laird of the Department of Romance Languages replied, “I have thought that she was rather indifferent … To be perfectly frank, she is a girl that I have wondered about and haven’t been able to make out or understand.”

In the end, the five students who were actually involved in the wreck were suspended for the remainder of the semester. The sixth student who was a co-owner of the car but was not present for the accident was allowed to return to campus after the thirty days. Vice President Jackson wrote to the parents of the suspended students on March 8, stating “the whole incident is most distressing to him [President Foust] and also to me, and our sympathies are all with you and your daughter in this serious trouble, but we have a responsibility to the college that we cannot overlook. We hope that this most unfortunate experience will in the end make her a stronger and better woman that she otherwise could have been.”