Created by the College of Human Sciences and its predecessor organizations.

The Florida State University (FSU) College of Human Sciences was established in 1905 as the Department of Home Economics at Florida Female College, FSU's predecessor institution. Miss Marian Jones was appointed its Director of Industrial Arts and the first teacher of Domestic Science and Arts. The following year, Miss Josephine Barclay was hired to replace Miss Jones. Unfortunately, a fire that destroyed the College's West Hall in December 1906 resulted in the Department's loss of its domestic labs and equipment.

In 1908, Agnes Ellen Harris was employed as head of the Department of Home Economics. Shortly after Florida Female College was renamed the Florida State College for Women (FSCW) in 1909, the College's new administration building was built. It provided 5,000 square feet of space for the Department. To meet federal requirements and the demand for vocational training, the College created a Home Demonstration Extension program in 1916 and developed two-week short courses that were open to housekeepers and to all women over 16 years of age who could not afford to leave home for an entire school year. Agnes Harris left her position as Home Economics Director in 1912 to become director of the College's Extension Program (Cora Gray became the new Director) and remained until 1919 when extension work was made part of the General Extension Division at the University of Florida. That year Harris resigned and moved to Texas. Some of the Department's accomplishments in these early years included the awarding of the first baccalaureate degree in Home Economics, the establishment of a building for Home Demonstration Work in Florida (1912), and the founding of the Home Economics Club in 1914.

During World War I, FSCW President Edward Conradi hired Margaret M. Edwards as its first dietitian to cope with food shortages and conservation efforts. The canning of fish and poultry expanded considerably during those years. Special first-aid and basic nursing classes were available to campus residents, and students also learned how to can and preserve vegetables and fruits. According to Robin Sellers' Femina Perfecta, FSCW tried renting various nearby residences as practice houses where students could live for a semester to gain experience in day-to-day home management, but they proved unsatisfactory for both students and teachers.

In 1917, the Smith-Hughes Act was passed by the U.S. Congress to provide education for Vocational Agriculture and Home Economics in the public schools. This development increased the need for well-educated Home Economics teachers to work in the extension program and teach in the high schools. Students who wished to teach or work in extension had to have experience in farming or homemaking, as well as college training in home economics. As a result of these changes, in 1918, the FSCW Department of Home Economics became the School of Home Economics. It was authorized to grant the B.S. degree, and Cora Gray was named Dean. In addition, the Florida Home Economics Association was chartered that year. By 1920, the extension program at FSCW adjusted its curricula to peacetime activities and a growing community spirit. The first movie depicting home demonstration work was filmed in Florida, and leadership training became an important part of the extension program.

Probably the most significant development in the new School of Home Economics was the appointment in 1922 of Margaret R. Sandels, a graduate of Columbia University, as Dean of the School and Professor of Nutrition. Considered the founding dean of Home Economics at FSCW, she served until 1958. During her tenure, enrollment grew from only 115 students in 1922 to 366 when she retired. There were many significant accomplishments in the early years of her administration. These included the opening of the Home Management House in the late 1920s, where students ran the household and often hosted meals for college and other VIPs, the awarding of the first Master of Science in Home Economics to May Winfield Hamilton (1927), and the first Master of Science degrees awarded in Clothing and Textiles, Family Economics, Foods and Nutrition; Home Economics Education, and Institution Administration (1937). By 1938, the School was in second place with an enrollment of 1,850 students exceeded only by the Texas State College for Women.

By 1940-1941, 400 of the 2,000 students at FSCW (20%) were enrolled in the College of Home Economics, and 48 earned a B.S. degree. To meet the needs of the State of Florida in World War II, the extension program changed its focus dramatically. Emergency appropriations from the U.S. War Food Administration were used to employ emergency assistants for increasing food production and conservation. In addition, home demonstration agents were assigned many essential war-time duties and were trained in mass feeding for the civil defense effort and for natural disasters. Many women enrolled in the School of Home Economics were home demonstration agents. Their training in skills and leadership proved to be valuable in planning community and statewide war programs.

In 1947, FSCW became coeducational and was renamed Florida State University (FSU). The following year, the Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) in Home Economics was approved by the Florida Board of Control. During the early FSU years, some notable developments in the School were the establishment of the Interdivisional Ph.D. Program in Marriage and Family in 1950, the awarding of the first Ph.D. degrees to James C. Walters and Helen M. Finch in 1954, and the School's move in 1956 into a new building named in Dean Sandels' honor. The building was renovated in 1998. As a tribute to Sandels, a Fund for Excellence in her honor was established by the College of Human Sciences Development Board in 2005, in conjunction with the Centennial Celebration.

In 1958, Dean Sandels retired and Hortense Glenn became Dean of the School of Home Economics. Before she became an instructor in the School of Home Economics, Glenn went to Duke University to study dietetics, and worked in university hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio, where she became Assistant Director of Dietetics. In her early years at FSCW, she was resident instructor at the Home Management House, in which every woman who majored in Home Economics had to live for a period of time. During Dean Glenn's administration, the School grew in size and stature. In 1965, it was re-organized into four departments: Food and Nutrition, Clothing and Textiles, Home and Family Life, and Home Economics Education, which had been organized to include Home Economics Extension Education. In addition, as a reflection of the increased professionalism in the Home Economics field, there were 14 undergraduate programs now included in the School. Glenn worked hard to build a faculty with a national reputation and excellent teaching skills. By 1959, the School conferred 132 B.S. degrees, 12 M.S. degrees, and 6 Ph.D. degrees, and there were 24 faculty. In 1961, the FSU School of Home Economics was designated as Florida's Resident Instruction Unit in Home Economics in the Land Grant Association. Glenn retired in 1972 to travel and be active in the community. She died in 1974, and the Hortense Glenn Society was named in her honor for the top one percent of the student body in the School.

Margaret Wilson Sitton became Dean of the School of Home Economics in 1972 and held this position until her retirement in 1991. Prior to coming to FSU, she was Professor of Home Economics and Assistant Dean at the College of Home Economics at Texas Tech University. In her early career, she was a home economics teacher, supervisor of student teachers, and program evaluation consultant. During her nearly twenty year tenure at FSU, there were several significant achievements. In 1974, the School received accreditation status from the American Home Economics Association. Since the School had had a doctoral degree program since 1947 and earlier master's programs, it achieved a rank within the top tier of home economics programs in terms of graduate enrollment and graduate degrees conferred. Along with diverse academic programs and increasing research productivity, the School gained approval to become the College of Home Economics in 1977.

Another notable accomplishment during Dean Sitton's administration was the merger of the Movement Science graduate program from the College of Education with the Department of Food and Nutrition. This enabled the College to become one of the key health programs at FSU that would be known for allied health and pre-medical education. With the addition of the Movement Science faculty, consideration was given to changing the name of the College to reflect the breadth and depth of academic programs. After many long discussions, the faculty voted in 1988 to change the name from the College of Home Economics to the College of Human Sciences.

Finally, Dean Sitton began laying the groundwork for external development through establishing an alumni relations infrastructure. In 1977, the College's Alumni Association Board of Directors was established. Several initiatives were planned and implemented by alumni, including the 75th anniversary Diamond Jubilee held in 1980. During that decade, alumni raised $600,000 for an eminent scholar chair that was matched by $400,000 from the state. Through her vision and enthusiasm, the College was able to achieve this goal, and the Mack and Effie Campbell Tyner Eminent Scholar Chair was established in 1986. This endowment was the first one established in a human sciences unit nationally.

Following Dean Sitton's retirement, Penny A. Ralston was selected in 1992 as the College's fourth dean, becoming the first African-American to serve as dean of a southern Human Sciences unit. From 1987 until coming to FSU, she was head of the Department of Consumer Studies at the University of Massachusetts and was known nationally for scholarship in gerontology and her work in the American Home Economics Association. During her tenure, the number of students in the College rose from 900 to almost 3,000. As FSU's fourth-largest academic unit, the College not only more than doubled its undergraduate rolls, but registered a 50 percent increase in minority enrollment. Ralston helped to set the stage for this increase through developing special diversity programs, such as the model inter-university cooperative program with historically African-American institutions to strengthen the preparation of undergraduate students for research and graduate-level studies. She also encouraged student and faculty participation in projects that serve the community, for example, helping to create a mentoring program for students interested in allied health careers with underserved populations.

Along with the vast increase in student population, the faculty expanded during Ralston's administration. Between 1992 and 2005, 22 faculty were hired, including 10 new faculty lines. In addition, nine university named professorships were secured for faculty members, and the College hired an eminent scholar to head the FSU Family Institute. During this period, over 99 faculty awards and honors were received, and three staff members received honors and awards, including three Fulbright Awards. Faculty contributed valuable research to improve the lives of Floridians and others in such fields as controlling disease symptoms and weight, identifying food allergens and family therapy best practices, protecting workers and the environment from harmful toxins, and teaching beneficial exercise and nutrition practices.

Dean Ralston also actively worked to increase the College's financial base. This included increasing annual contract and grant funding from less than $.5 million to over $2.6 million. To raise private funds, she formed a 30-member Development Board of Directors, including alumni and friends. The Board, along with development staff and faculty, led two capital campaigns and raised $18 million, including two eminent scholar chairs, four endowed professorships, and two $1 million endowments.

In addition to these accomplishments, Dean Ralston spearheaded a well-planned and executed $5.5 million renovation, completed in 1998, of the Sandels College of Human Sciences building. However, with the rapid growth of the College, space for its state-of-the-art laboratory facilities became tight very quickly. She worked constantly to keep each research facility updated, seeking support from local, national, and international businesses and industries that might benefit from a partnership with the College. By 2003, she secured additional space on the FSU campus to support growth in faculty research and academic programs. She also raised funds for a Sandels Building expansion plan, supported by an Office Depot grant for a technology complex to enable enhance College programs and research.

In Fall 2005, the College of Human Sciences celebrated its centennial anniversary. Dean Ralston announced her retirement, effective June 2006, and was succeeded by Billie Collier, the College's fifth dean. As of Fall 2006, 3,100 students were enrolled in three departments: Family and Child Sciences; Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences; and Textiles and Consumer Sciences. Among the 50 outstanding faculty members in the College, six held named professorships.

From the guide to the Florida State University College of Human Sciences Records, 1905-2005, (Repository Unknown)