Simpson, Elizabeth (1920-1990)

Elizabeth Simpson

As Dean of the School of Family Resources and Consumer Sciences from 1974 to 1985, Elizabeth Simpson motivated faculty to excel through her encouragement and support.

Simpson received three degrees in Home Economics Education--a BS from Indiana State University (1941), an MS from Iowa State University (1949), and a EdD from the University of Illinois (1955). Between her first two degrees, she taught high school home economics in Indiana. After earning her doctorate, she was professor of Home Economics Education first at Purdue University, and then at the University of Illinois. When Simpson was appointed acting chair of the Department of Vocational-Training Education at the University of Illinois in 1967, she was the first woman to chair any similar department in the country. In 1969, she moved to Washington to work for the US Office of Education. She held three positions there, the last of which was as branch chief of the Curriculum Development Branch in the Division of Research and Demonstration. She was also the first female president of the 50,000-member American Vocational Association.

Simpson was appointed Dean of the School of Family Resources and Consumer Sciences in 1974, just after the School became an autonomous unit within the university. She arrived at a time of uncertainty for the School and for the discipline as a whole, but she united faculty behind an exciting vision of the field. Among her goals was to increase the attention focused on research within the School, and she succeeded in attracting research funding from a number of private and government sources. Publications by faculty also grew under her tenure.

Elizabeth Simpson

Because she believed that a need existed for Japanese-speaking home economists in business, she spearheaded a Japan Project, which involved combining studies in consumer science or retailing with studies in Japanese language and culture, to be followed by an internship in Japan. She also hoped to establish an extended degree program for continuing students.

Simpson was awarded the first Faculty Professional Excellence Award by the School in 1981 in recognition for her leadership and vision. She also received extensive recognition for her work on a national level. In 1978 she was named one of eleven outstanding vocational educators of the decade by the National Center for Vocational Association Convention. This award recognized her work to keep home economics included in the Vocational Education Amendments of 1968. In the thirty-year history of the award, she was the second woman recipient, and the first recipient in home economics education. She was also named a member of the National Faculty for Advanced Study in Vocational Education.