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Manning, Hazel (1884-1960)
Hazel Manning, instructor and then professor of Clothing and Textiles from 1917 to 1952, believed that a home economics education ought to prepare students for more than just teaching or homemaking. Rather than emphasize skills such as drafting patterns and sewing, in her classes she focused instead on preparing her students for business careers. Manning carried this interest in clothing economics and retailing throughout her many years at UW, which spanned a BS in Home Economics in 1913, an MS in Political Science in 1917, a rise to full professorship in 1930, and tenure as the first Chair of the Clothing and Textiles Department from 1924 to 1952. Yet Manning could easily have chosen a career in research. An undergraduate thesis that she wrote on tarvia--the black substance put on roads--interested tarvia manufacturers so much that she was offered a position conducting commercial research. But Manning had already decided that she wanted to teach, and after spending a year in Boston on a fellowship from the Independent Women's Educational and Industrial Union, she returned to UW to begin her MS and to work as an instructor. In the late 1940s, men majoring in commerce who were intending to go into department store management began to express interest in her courses. Manning responded by offering a section of her Textiles and Merchandising course that introduced them to the basics of fabrics and manufactured clothing. As Manning described the experience: "The young men were very interested, and eager to learn. And, my, they certainly did ask questions. We had quite a time, trying in one semester to cover everything from the feel of organdy to what makes up a good mattress." Her willingness to design such a course to meet student needs as well as the first-hand research on merchandising she did at a Milwaukee department store one summer indicate the emphasis that Manning put on teaching material that would both interest students and prepare them for careers. |
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