The University of Iowa Home Economics Department records date from 1913 to 1991 and measure 2.7 linear feet. The papers are arranged in six series: administrative records, activities, courses, facilities, faculty, and audiovisual.

The Administrative Records series (1913-1989) includes the bulk of the collection and details the activities of the University of Iowa Home Economics department from a managerial standpoint. The series contains materials regarding department publicity, faculty selection, enrollment data, assistantships, and career data issued to students.

The Alumnae newsletters and bulletins include multi-page reports on departmental affairs and alumnae news are organized according to departmental chair. Catalogs and publications promoting the department's course offerings are also included. Summer school catalogs and a 1913 university bulletin highlighting educational opportunities for women at the State University of Iowa offers an illustrated guide to campus life.

The Publicity folders contain published materials released by the department for promotion during the years 1940-1984. Departmental newsletters, press releases, brochures, and newspaper clippings are included in the published materials.

The American Home Economics Association accreditation process is detailed in the department's bid for accreditation in 1982 and its subsequent consent to withdrawal from accreditation in 1989 when circumstances surrounding the termination process made sustaining its credentials impossible.

Also included in the Administration series are the departmental expense accounts which span the years 1913-1922. Included are records of materials and expenses incurred by the Home Economics department in its first decade of existence, including supplemental payroll information.

A thesis by Rosemary Wilmoth on the subject of perceptions of women's managerial skills (1984) and one directed study by Suzanne Dziurawiec Haines on the subject of infant nutrition in Iowa City (1974)is in the Thesis portion of the Administration series. Also the department's in-depth review of its activities in 1975 and 1986 is included in the self-study folders.

The termination of department began in 1987 and lasted until 1989. Materials are included relating to the internal and external review of the Home Economics department from 1987-1989. Of particular interest are copies of internal and external review reports, exchanges between departmental faculty and Dean Gerhard Loewenberg concerning the conduct of an external referee during his campus visit, and a vigorous faculty rebuttal of the findings of the external review report.

The Activities series (1942-1970) provides information on the various activities in which the faculty and students in the department participated. The series includes materials from old Days, the department's bean supper, departmental workshops, exhibits, field trips, and student meetings. The department's fiftieth anniversary is well represented in the series. The fiftieth anniversary folder in the series contains publications from the celebration and the transcript of the humorous play "Fifty liberal years" that was staged in honor of the anniversary.

The series contains conference proceedings from 1942, 1964, and 1965, which consist of the published materials that accompanied conferences hosted by the University of Iowa Home Economics department on the topics of nutrition, textiles, and social gerontology.

The Courses series (1963-1972) contains course materials from a team taught research methods class in 1964-1965. In addition, the series includes the department's lists of course schedules from 1963 until 1972.

The Facilities series (1945-1970) includes the department's information on equipment fabric collections, slide collections, TV films, and office space needs. In addition, it provides information on the remodeling of Macbride hall that took place in 1981.

The Faculty series (1933-1984) gives researchers information on some of the faculty members that served the department during its existence. The series is divided by faculty member and contains research publications and manuscripts produced by department faculty along with a few biographies, photographs, and press releases.

Chairs of the University of Iowa Department of Home Economics: Ruth Aimee Wardall, 1913-1922; Helen Pope, 1922-1923; Dr. Frances Zuill, 1923-1939; Mate Giddings, 1939-1940; Dr. Sybil Woodruff, 1940-1955; Dr. Eugenia Whitehead, 1955-1971; Dr. Sara Wolfson, 1972-1988; and Dr. Carolyn Lara-Braud, 1989-1991.

The Audiovisual series (2000) contains 9 audiocassettes, including oral history interviews with Alice Atkinson, Lorraine Dorfman, and Naomi Schedl.