Western Michigan University - Brown and Gold Yearbook (Kalamazoo, MI)

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him to supervise or work with all types of mentally or physically ill children or adults. The number of practising therapists today numbers less than 5,000 while there are 8,000 vacancies in the field. The school has grown from two students in 1922 to the present enrollment of 152, with graduates scattered throughout the United States and Canada. The Home Economics offers four years of pro- fessional preparation and a Bachelor of Science degree for Homemaking Teachers, Dietitions, and Home Economics in Business, and in addition offers a two year Homemaking certified course. A future occupational therapist learns the methods of rug-making from Miss Marion Spear. The Department of Occupational Therapy of Western Michigan University is one of the oldest and largest of the thirty such schools approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association and accredited by the Council on Medical Educa- tion and hospitals of the American Medical Asso- ciation. The degree course may be completed in seven semester hours on campus and nine months of clinical experience in four different types of hos- pitals throughout the United States. Upon com- pletion of the course the student must successfully pass a comprehensive examination which qualifies More future O.T s work on stuffed animals, under the guidanee of Miss Rosalia Kiss. 26

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Classes in cooperation with the Division of Field Service are given for the benefit of paper industry personnel in Kalamazoo and neighboring cities. The Department of Industrial Technology has two basic functions. First to train people for tech- nical positions in industry and second to train people for teaching positions in schools and indus- try. The product of this department should be able to engage in work that requires some of the know- ledge and skills of both the professional engineer, and skilled tradesman. He is required to know basic theories and to be able to apply them. The tech- nician usually specializes in one aspect of engineer- ing. He might for example, work as a draftsman, a detailed designer, a cost estimator, a production supervisor, or a research assistant. Cabinet making, an important part of a high school program, is taught in a future industrial arts teacher. Mr. Lawrence Brink puts his printing elass to work on school publications. Few students realize that the shops of the Indus- trial Arts Department contain well over $175,000 worth of equipment. One of the shops is exclusively for printing. There the college paper is printed to- gether with everything from posters, stationery and college catalogs. Next to this shop is the wood- working unit where such skills as cabinetmaking. patternmaking, and upholstering are learned. An- other very important shop is the machine shop where students receive direct training in the use of lathes, shapers, and all the other metal working tools. In addition to training teachers and offering a general degree for students, the department acts as a service department for occupational therapists, pre-engineers, and elementary teachers, who take such courses as descriptive geometry, leather and plastic handicrafts, and auto or power mechanics. 25

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Future hum ' economies teachers work on thri ving projects. Educational courses in agriculture have been a part of the offerings in Western since 1904. The purposes and functions in agriculture have been changed since its beginnings, but the need for such instruction can be said to be even greater because of the greater numbers of citizens who are depend- ent of its production and intelligent uses. In 1929 these courses were organized under the Department of Agriculture. The recent re-emphasis on courses in agriculture for all students, especially those preparing to teach, is a recognized responsi- bility of the Department. Western Michigan university has owned a farm since 1925. In 1928 this was increased to 149 acres. The College Farm provides a source of realistic and actual first hand materials for class room farm studv. Home Economics department has for its primary objective helping the individual student to achieve a rich and satisfying home, family and community life. It is concerned with the personal and group values that are desirable outcomes of successful living. It deals with the social, economic, esthetic, managerial, health, and ethical aspects of family relations and management, child development, foods, clothing, and housing. Home Economics is an education for personal development, for more satis- fying family and community living, and for areas of professional specialization. Alter (lie dummy comes the actual machine sewing. Two future Home Ee teachers are shown creating a fashionable dress 27