American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) is an American professional association that networks professionals in the area of
family and consumer science. It was founded in 1908 as the American Home Economics Association by
Ellen H. Richards. In 1994 it changed its name to the current one.
[Ballard, Patricia Tsune (ed.) (2001) "Home Economics, *10956*, American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences" ''Encyclopedia of Associations'' (37th ed.) Gale, Detroit, vol. 1, pt. 2, p. 1272, ]
The association started with about 800 members
[Frey, Colleen (1995) "American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS)" pp. 16-20 in Slavin, Sarah (1995) ''U.S. Women's Interest Groups: Institutional Profiles'' Greenwood, p. 18] and grew to over 50,000 by the mid-1960s.
In the early 20th century, the association did not often mention
Black universities in its journal and it also practiced segregation. It encouraged African American home economics leaders to form their own groups. Many already had formed such groups, which included the
National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools
The American Teachers Association (1937-1966), formerly National Colored Teachers Association (1906–1907) and National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools (1907–1937), was a professional association and teachers' union representing tea ...
. By the mid-1990s membership had fallen below 25,000 and by 2001, it was just over 13,000.
Membership continued to decline, and by 2008 was just over 7,000,
["A Brief History of AAFCS" AAFCS website, archived a]
https://web.archive.org/web/20080515111912/http://www.aafcs.org/about/history.html
by Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
on May 15, 2008 and where by early 2012, the numbers fell to approximately 5,000 members.
The association currently acts as a
professional network
A professional network service (or, in an Internet context, simply professional network) is a type of social network service that focuses on interactions and relationships for business opportunities and career growth, with less emphasis on activiti ...
primarily for professors and teachers of home economics and related courses, but also includes large numbers from government, business and
non-profit
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
organizations.
AAFCS is one of the five organizations that form the Consortium of Family Organizations.
[Frey, Colleen (1995) "American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS)" pp. 16-20 in Slavin, Sarah (1995) ''U.S. Women's Interest Groups: Institutional Profiles'' Greenwood, p. 20] While not having its own political action committee, it recommends the "Vocational Political Action Committee"; and in 1985, the AAFCS joined the Home Economics Public Policy Council (HEPPC), which does engage in legislative action.
The field originated from home economics to what it is today. Family and Consumer Sciences is an interdisciplinary field that combines social sciences (emphasizing on the well-being of individuals, families, and communities) and natural sciences (emphasizing on nutrition, development, and textile science). Aspects included: nutrition, cooking, parenting and human development, interior design, textiles, economics, housing, apparel merchandising, resource management, ad other related specialties.
Awards
* National Family and Consumer Sciences Teacher of the Year Award, annually for outstanding educational programs
* Borden Award, annually for research in nutrition
* Ruth O'Brien Project Grants, periodically for development of research in family and consumer science
* AAFCS fellowships awarded to graduate students in family and consumer science
* Atwater International fellowship to non-American graduate students in family and consumer science, established in 1947 and named after
Helen W. Atwater
Helen Woodard Atwater (29 May 1876 – 26 June 1947) was an American writer, home economics specialist and the first full-time editor of the ''Journal of Home Economics''.
Life
Atwater was born in Somerville, Massachusetts, and graduated from Smi ...
Publications
* ''Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences'', a quarterly refereed professional publication,
formerly the ''Journal of Home Economics'' renamed in 1994
* ''
Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal'', a quarterly refereed technical publication,
published on behalf of the association, (print), (web), by
Sage Publications
SAGE Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American independent publishing company founded in 1965 in New York by Sara Miller McCune and now based in Newbury Park, California.
It publishes more than 1,000 journals, more than 800 books ...
through 2009, then by
Wiley-Blackwell
Wiley-Blackwell is an international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons. It was formed by the merger of John Wiley & Sons Global Scientific, Technical, and Medical business with Blackwell Publish ...
* ''AAFCS Action'', a five times per year newsletter detailing association and member activities,
established in 1974
discontinued as a paper publication in 2002
* ''Yearbook (American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences. Education and Technology Division)'' from 1981 to 2001 the Education and Technology Division of AAFCS published a yearbook for home economics teachers. Beginning in 2002 it was available only in CD-ROM format. This yearbook provided valuable information to prospective housewives.
Notable members
*
Sarah Louise Arnold, president,
American Home Economics Association
American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS) is an American professional association that networks professionals in the area of family and consumer science. It was founded in 1908 as the American Home Economics Association by Ellen ...
;
[ ] first dean,
Simmons College
Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include:
* Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts
* Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky
* Har ...
; national president,
Girl Scouts of the USA
Girl Scouts of the United States of America (GSUSA), commonly referred to as simply Girl Scouts, is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. Founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912, it was organized a ...
*
Anna Barrows, cooking lecturer, early 20th century
*
Josephine Thorndike Berry (1871-1945), educator, home economist
*
Florence Fallgatter, president of AHEA from 1950 to 1952
*
Agnes Ellen Harris, pioneer in women's education programs, charter member
*
Una B. Herrick, Dean of College of Household and Industrial Arts and later the first Dean of Women,
Montana State College
Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 68 fields, and doctoral degrees in 35 fi ...
, from 1911 to 1932. In 1926 Montana State College built Herrick Hall to house the Home Economics Department; the building was named after Dean Herrick.
Notes
External links
Official homepage of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences* Archive of entire run of journal. Renamed ''Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences'' in 1993.
* Archive of journal from 1994 to 1997. Originally named ''Journal of home economics'' from 1909 to 1993.
{{Authority control
Professional associations based in the United States
Organizations established in 1909