HDFS: A History
The Department of Counseling, Human Development, and Family Science (CHDFS) may have just established in August 2024, but many would be surprised to learn how rich a history it stems from. An evolution from Home Economics (to Human Ecology to Child and Family Studies to), Human Development, and Family Science (HDFS) is now a forefront field of study that has a broad range of focus to try to encapsulate what it is to be a developing human and how this development takes place within the context of a family system.
As defined by the 1902 conference, “Home Economics in its most comprehensive sense is the study of the laws, conditions, principles and ideals which are concerned on the one hand with man’s immediate physical environment and on the other hand with his nature as a social bring, and it’s the study especially of the relation between these two factors.”[1]
In what is termed “the Harris years,” the Home Economics Department of UT flourished from 1927-1957 amid obstacles including the Great Depression, First World War, and Second World War. Ms. Harris, who was an alumna of UT in 1908, led UT Home Economics to add the Nursery School, foster relationships with local high schools, fostered relationships among other departments such as agriculture and chemistry, and the completion of what is now known as our Jessie W. Harris Building. [1]
Dr. Laura Odland became the new Dean in Fall 1959, who would take on many additions and changes to the College, including important mergers in 1974-1975 that would establish our former department of Child and Family Studies. “The Department of Child and Family Studies was established from components of the Department of Child Development and Family Relationships and the Department of Home Management, Equipment, and Family Economics.” [1]
“Today’s home economist makes policy, not coffee.” With rapid growth and a broadening concentration on micro-level family and interpersonal interactions as well as macro-level structural and systemic influences on families and relationships, the phrase “human ecology” became increasingly popular, marrying the “the proud tradition of home economics” and “human communities and their adaptations to their environments.” Thus, on September 27, 1985, there was a unanimous vote to change the name from College of Home Economics to the College of Human Ecology. [1]
“The College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences was created in 2002 through a merger of the former College of Education and the former College of Human Ecology. The merger of these two colleges, both with rich histories and exemplary records of achievement, resulted from a recognition of complementary institutional missions and a belief that the two colleges, as one, would become more effective in dealing with the complex challenges facing families, schools, and communities in the 21st century.” [2]
Most recently, two departments within CEHHS, “Child and Family Studies” and “Educational Psychology and Counseling”, came together to create the new Department of Counseling, Human Development, and Family Science. Our department promotes optimal development and holistic well-being across the lifespan through research and practice that honor the complexities of individuals, families, and communities. HDFS is an interdisciplinary discipline focused on understanding human development and family systems in context to enhance the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, and their communities. Counseling is an applied discipline that prepares clinical mental health counselors and school counselors to promote optimal human development and wellness through relationship. Both disciplines concentrate on understanding growth and development across the lifespan, the family we’re born into, and the relationships we choose to create and nurture, so that in turn we can bolster interconnectedness with those around us to create community. In this way, our department is dedicated to “teaching, research, and practices that are socially and scientifically significant.”
We are humbled by those who came before to pave the way for our successes. Now we’re proud to continue the great works that have been started and to embrace the changes needed in order to better serve our students here at UT and our communities here in East Tennessee and beyond. Here’s to another 100 years of growth and success for our students, our college, and our community.
[1] Through the Arch: Home Economics to Human Ecology 1897-1994 The University of Tennessee Knoxville by Jaquelyn Orlando DeJonge, Former Dean
[2]https://catalog.utk.edu/content.php?catoid=7&navoid=528#:~:text=The%20College%20of%20Education%2C%20Health,communities%20in%20the%2021st%20century.