Welcome to the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) at Carson-Newman College. Students in our division pursue majors which empower them to improve the quality of life of individuals and families.

	“The Family and Consumer Sciences profession … has something to offer almost everyone”

The FCS profession “with a thousand job titles” has something to offer almost everyone who is interested in assisting people in their family and consumer roles. You will want to be creative when you consider the variety of options offered you here at C-N.

For example, a major in Foods, Nutrition and Dietetics not only prepares one for a dietetic internship but also provides an ideal undergraduate preparation for medical school or nurse practitioners. Just ask Donna Stokes Cothran, MD (C-N ’80) who is pediatric neurologist and Registered Dietitian or Susan Gurley Johnson (C-N ’97) who is a nurse practitioner and registered dietitian. Someone interested in teaching in family life education on the secondary or college level might consider a major in Family and Consumer Science Education. Just ask Heather Cameron Martin (C-N ’99) who is a FCS teacher at a large consolidated high school or Melissa Miniard (C-N’02) a computer teacher at a middle school. Or perhaps, you are interested in Child and Family Studies or Early Childhood Education. Just ask Becky S. Baker (C-N ’95) second grade teacher named “Outstanding Elementary Educator” for her county or Wendy Davis (C-N ’01), Joy Wilhoit (C-N ’01, Rebecca Ford (C-N ’01) and Susan Kitchens (C-N ’99), all preschool elementary teachers.

If your major interest is Retailing and/or Interior Design, you may want to choose one or both of these emphases in our Consumer Services major. Just ask Joan Young (C-N’77) former director of preservation at the Smithsonian Museum of American History who now owns the Cara Mangus Celtic gift shop on the Outer Banks in North Carolina. There is also interior designer/architect Danielle Culp Mathews (C-N’94).

Maybe you are interested in improving the quality of life for your family and community, both near and far. Then ask Valerie Hayes, RD (C-N ’89) who has been a missionary in Turkey working to enhance health status. You might ask Dr. Barbara Anne Farmer Hughes (C-N’60), former President of Altrusa International, or Jane Blevins Chadbourne (C-N ’74) who is a wife, mother and youth worker in her church. Angela Parton (C-N ’03), with teenage children, completed her degree in Early Childhood Education.

	“You are assured of individual attention and develop strong professional ties with the faculty.”

Regardless of your choice of major, you will enjoy several special advantages. Three of our four majors are led by faculty with doctorates in their area of expertise. Our division has six full-time faculty positions, a director and lead teacher of our Child Development Center, and two part-time faculty for over 100 majors. Thus, you are assured of individual attention and develop strong professional ties with the faculty. Several of our courses are approved for general education credit and/or are elected by other majors, so you have the opportunity to know other students in your FCS course as well as in your supporting courses and electives outside the division.

	“Each major has an internship or field experience built into the curriculum.”

Each major has an internship or field experience built into the curriculum. Internship sites secured by our students include regional and community hospitals, both public and parochial child development/day care programs, Southern Living Corporation, Hyatt Regency Hotel, The Limited, The Gap, Parisians, J. Crew, the Virginia Preservations Association, and Agricultural Extension Service. Many of these internships have provided experience leading to job placement. A few have provided a salary or stipend.

These are a few highlights of what our department has to offer:

• We are accredited by the Council for Accreditation of the American Associate of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS). Originally accredited in 1985, our department was reaffirmed in 1995.
• Graduates of our Commission on Accreditation for Dietetic Education (CADE), American Dietetic Association (ADA), and Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD) have maintained a 100% passage rate on the Registered Dietitian exam since the programs inception in 1979.
• Our Child and Family Studies and Family and Consumer Sciences Education majors offer teacher licensure programs accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE).
• Our Early Childhood Education students do practica in our national Association for the Accreditation of Young Children (NAEYC) accredited Child Development Center. We are the only NAEYC accredited center in a 30 mile radius.
• Our Duncan Hall Resident Management Laboratory, which a few years ago underwent a $180,000 renovation in partnership with business and industry, is a national model for cooperative learning, application of management principles, and leadership development.
• Family and Consumer Sciences at C-N is the oldest unit of its kind in a private denominational college/university in the southeastern United States. In 2006 we celebrate our centennial anniversary (1906 – 2006).
Thank you for taking time to check out our pages in the FCS Department. If you want additional information, please contact us using the accompanying interactive sections. We invite you to come visit our Family and Consumer Sciences Department at Carson-Newman College and meet our faculty and students.

Kitty R. Coffey, PhD, RD, LDN, CFCS
Chair,
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
Dean,
Division of Family and Consumer Sciences