The School of Human Ecology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison broke barriers that prevented knowledge at the university from improving the lives of ordinary women across the state. Since 1903 the School of Human Ecology has educated college women about homemaking and home economics, and through the Wisconsin Idea, the school extended its reach into the homes of women in rural and urban areas of the state. As women acquired skills and knowledge to improve their lives and the lives of children and families, their status in society changed and domestic work was recognized as an essential part of a strong and healthy society.
Women in the Home Economics Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison studied the chemical properties of food, fibers, and bacteria in laboratories. Students were required to complete courses in organic chemistry, general chemistry, physiology, biology, and bacteriology in order to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Home Economics.
[University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries Digital Collections. Home Economics to Human Ecology. 1939.]
"The greatest need of America today is a widely educated womanhood. A woman sets the standards of life, so the nation's homes are built and citizens made."
Abby Marlatt, Professor of Home Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1909
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The WI Idea