Faculty in the Department of Consumer Science live by the philosophies that:
- our teaching extends way beyond the borders of our campus
- our research is often conducted in the community and in collaboration with the public
- we cannot feel satisfied until we have translated our promising discoveries into application
Some of our faculty have appointments with the University of Wisconsin Extension system that makes doing outreach a formal integrated part of their responsibilities. Other faculty do it to further the Wisconsin Idea, the notion that the boundaries of the university are the boundaries of the state.
Outreach Projects
The Food Security Project, led by Professor Judi Bartfeld, gathers local food security data to develop statewide trend information, provides food security information for community planners, and helps identify community characteristics that contribute to household food security.
Consumer and Producer Co-ops of North America receive their most important training institutes every year from a Human Ecology project led by Professor Ann Hoyt. She has also provided training to business co-ops in Latin America and Africa.
The Economics of Family Life has been taught to hundreds of local groups in every corner of Wisconsin, by Professor Karen Goebel. She has just been promoted to Emeritus Professor but continues to work in the School and across the state. Popular topics of her outreach talks have included family estate planning, marital property reform, identity theft and advance directives for health care.
Helping Solve the Health Care Crisis for Children from Low-Income Households: One of the problems in health care coverage is that existing programs are not utilized by many eligible, low-income families. Headed by Professor Roberta Riportella and Outreach Specialist Michael Jacob, the Wisconsin Covering Kids and Families project creates greater awareness and utilization of existing health care programs. The project works primarily through a coalition of more than 75 organizations that work with low-income families who are likely to have family members eligible for Medicaid or BadgerCare.
