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A History of the University of Missouri-Columbia
Department of Textile and Apparel Management

Note to Researcher: The information about the Department of Textile and Apparel Management found on this page was originally compiled in 1999. More current information about the College of Human Environmental Sciences and its departments can be found at the following URL:

History

A textiles and clothing specialty was one of the earliest offered by the University of Missouri-Columbia's Home Economics department. In the early 1900s, courses in textiles and dressmaking were offered and by the early 1930s a four-year curriculum for textile and clothing specialists had been established. Early research projects in the textile specialty included studies of weighted silk, the wearing qualities of hosiery, and the hygiene of women's underwear. When the second wing of Gwynn Hall was completed in 1935, a conditioning room was included for textile research and by the 1950s the textile and clothing major included emphases in costume design, fashion merchandising, buying, and testing, and textile research.

Textiles and Clothing was established as a section when Home Economics became a school in 1960. When the school became a college in 1973 and the section became a department, the name was changed to Clothing and Textiles. In 1982, Clothing and Textiles was targeted for possible elimination as part of a proposal for sweeping cuts in academic programs at UMC; this proposal was eventually rejected by the Board of Curators. By the mid-1980s the program had grown to include business options in apparel merchandising and marketing, textile and apparel economics, and commercial and theater apparel design; advanced studies options in historical or behavior studies in dress or textile science; and information/service options in clothing and textiles extension or journalism. In 1987 the department changed its name to Textile and Apparel Management to reflect the terminology used in the industrial sector of the discipline. The department currently offers undergraduate emphases in apparel marketing and merchandising, international studies in textile and apparel management, and apparel manufacturing and management.

Leadership

Note to Researcher: Information on current administrators in the Department of Textile and Apparel Management can be found at the following URL:

• 1960-1966 Adella Ginter, Head
• 1967-1970 MaryLou Rosencranz, Head
• 1970-1980 Elinor R. Nugent, Chair
• 1981-present Kitty G. Dickerson, Chair

Sources: University General Catalogs (C:0/51/1/); School of Home Economics Catalogs and Bulletins (C:5/12/1); HES Dean's Office - M. Mangel HE History Records (C:5/1/NP)

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