School department changes name

Students looking in the fall 1995 schedule of classes for a home economic class take note: Effective Aug. 22 in time for the fall semester, the department of home economics will become the department of family and consumer sciences.

James Koval, acting department chair of home economics, said that the department has been looking to change its name for quite a while, although the department has been working seriously on it for the last four years.

"We have had nothing but great responses," Koval said about the name change.

One of the reasons why the name of family and consumer sciences was chosen was because the national organization that the department belongs to changed its name to the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, Koval said.

Other than the fact AAFCS changed its name, the home ec department wanted to change its name because of the negative stigma attached to the name home ec, Koval said.

"Home ec doesn't accurately represent what the students do," Koval said, and how people think of cooking classes when they hear home ec.

The department did not run into any resistance when it was going through the different levels of the university to have its name changed, Koval said.

"Through the process, people have become aware of what were about," Koval said.

Along with the department's name being changed, approval was also given to have the home economics building name changed to the family and consumer sciences building, Koval said.