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Chat with the Chair Dr. Doris Sikora	The faculty and staff join me in sending greetings for friends and alumni from the Department of Consumer and Family Sciences. I hope that you will enjoy this newsletter and are making plans to join us for Homecoming activities on Nov 1. We are off to a great start for this academic year! Our programs are strong and we are experiencing the largest enrollment ever. I am excited to report that after a busy year last year we have a new major – Child Life Specialist, a new minor in Child Studies and a new certificate program in Family Home Visiting. We will soon be adding a minor in Meeting, Convention, and Exposition Planning, and upon approval, thsi minor will be available for enrollment in the Spring 2009 semester. We have just received Supportive Status for the National Kitchen and Bath Association and are working toward accreditation from this organization. These exciting additions to our current programs will give students more career options as they advance in their education. Thank you for your generous financial support, whether it is in the form of student scholarships or donations to the Foundation. Students who received support to attend professional conferences and field trip experiences have shared their gratitude. I look forward to seeing all of you at the homecoming activities on Nov. 1!
	For the fourth year in a row, students in the Beta Delta Chapter of Phi Upsilon Omicron at WKU have been honored with a regional award for their professional project. The theme of this year's project was "Inspired by the Past...Believe in the Present...Imagine the Future." The WKU chapter and other regional winners advance to the national competition at the Phi Upsilon Omicron Conclave 2008 in Minneapolis on Sept. 25-27. The awards were announced on June 21 at the Coordinating Council of CFS Honor Societies luncheon at the 2008 American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences conference in Milwaukee, MN. Other top finishers were Idaho State, Texas State and South Dakota State. Beta Delta has had two regional winners and two first-place national winners in the past four years. The WKU chapter, led by first vice president Emily Waits of Shelbyville and president Will Conkright of Owensboro, was honored for its efforts in assisting a variety of community organizations and their constituents. The chapter’s efforts focused on the nutrition, well-being and enrichment of the lives of others. The chapter’s report on its yearlong project was titled “Imagine a Whole New YOU (Nutrition, Enrichment, Well-Being).” Members of the chapter used their professional competencies to become civically engaged and benefit a diverse group of individuals and organizations, from young children to the elderly. The report showed how each CFS specialization contributed to one or more of the components of the NEW acronym. “We imagined a future in which our chapter could enrich others lives, as well as the lives of Beta Delta Chapter of Phi Upsilon Omicron,” Waits said. A highlight of the project was working with young children involved in after-school activities at two centers in Bowling Green. The sessions included exercises to establish rapport with the children and teach them the importance of physical activities to their physical well-being. Two other components of the sessions were a nutrition lesson based on trail mix, which the children were able to make, and sanitary hand washing, which used a special lotion to illuminate bacteria on the hands before and after hand washing. The project was supervised by Dr. Martha Jenkins, professional project advisor; Cindy Jones; chapter advisor; and, Dr. Karen Mason, financial advisor.
	The Early Childhood Center at WKU participated in the successful 55th annual WHAS Crusade for Children again this year, where more than $5.2 million was raised. Lisa Murphy, Director of the Early Childhood Center at WKU said, "We raised the money by selling Big Red School T-shirts, Big Red books that had been donated by the author, and DVDs of children in the Big Red School (ECC) to our families." The families of children participating in the Early Childhood Center, WKU faculty and students helped to raise $300 locally. The ECC has benefitted from the WHAS Crusade for Children the past two years by receiving grants to help staff the center with an instructional assistant that works with WKU faculty, staff, students and Big Red School children to ensure they the ECC is fulfilling it's goal of being a community-university partnership that helps individuals and families realize dignity, independence, and productivity while preparing pre-professionals across disciplines to conducti research to enhance education and service. The ECC has been recipients of several generous donors since it's inception. For information on one of the most recent donations, please see this news release about the naming of the Early Childhood Center for donors, Dan and Vickie Renshaw, shown at right.
	CFS is proud to announce that our Design, Merchandising and Textiles, Interior Design concentration has just received Supported Program status with the National Kitchen and Bath Association (NKBA). This status gives CFS Interior Design students access to several scholarships, as well as allowing them to enjoy access to NKBA's resource reference materials and other benefits to the student who is interested in becoming a practicing professional, according to a news release dated September 30, 2008. CFS Interior Design Faculty, Travis Wilson and Sheila Flener, have worked hard to earn this Supported Program status and will continue to work toward receiving accreditation for the WKU program from NKBA. Congratulations, Interior Design program!
Dr. Devona Dixon	Dr. Devona Dixon traveled to Cary, NC during the spring semester to attend a week long apparel manufacturing training offered by TC². The training included a tour of North Carolina State University School of Textiles’ textile/apparel production and finishing facilities. The training included sessions on pattern and marker development, spreading and cutting, material utilization, ergonomics and engineering issues. Technology for the new marketplace was presented and allowed participants to learn of and experience various computer-aided design systems and software used in the apparel industry, 3D Body Scanning for customizing apparel, digital textile printing, and sourcing materials. Those participating in the training included supervisors and managers of UNICOR, NIKE, Under Armour, Carhartt, Itex, Marine Corps Assoc., Survival Armor, Motherswork, and Propper International- all companies that design and produce apparel for public and special use. (UNICOR produces apparel and related apparel products for various branches of the US military.) Dr. Dixon noted that networking among training participants has provided opportunities to establish internship positions for WKU Textiles and Apparel Merchandising students interested in apparel design, production, and importing/buying/sourcing.
	Join other CFS alums at all the homecoming festivities on Saturday, November 1. Registration 10:00 a.m. Academic Complex, 2nd floor lobby CFS alumni association silent auction 10:00 a.m. Academic Complex, Rm. 202 While the department will donate a few items for the auction, alumni are encouraged to contact Cindy Jones (270-745-4111) to donate items for the auction. These items will need to be at WKU by 12:00 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 31. All funds raised this year will be used for the Lucile R. Stiles and Helen S. Kelley Professional Development fund, which supports students as they attend professional development event or training. CFS alumni luncheon 11:00 a.m., Academic Complex, Rm. 213. Reservations must be made through Lauri Warden (270-745-4352 by phone; or CFS@wku.edu by e-mail) by Tuesday, October 21. The price will be $12 per person and payment is to be made at the door. College of Health and Human Services Tent, 12:00-3:00 p.m. Courtyard, South Lawn side of Academic Complex. Free food, and health screenings will be available at this event. WKU vs. North Texas, 3:30 in the newly-renovated Houchens Industries-L.T. Smith Stadium Bring your family and come back to "The Hill" to reminisce and make new memories!
Consumer & Family Sciences 1906 College Heights Blvd Bldg. #11037 Western Kentucky Univ. Bowling Green, KY 42101 270-745-4352 phone 270-745-3999 fax CFS@wku.edu e-mail Editor: Lauri Warden	If you would like to be notified by e-mail when new editions of the CFS online newsletter is published, please send an e-mail to Lauri Warden at CFS@wku.edu and request to be added to the e-mail list. If you have alumni news to share, you may send it to CFS@wku.edu to be included in future editions of the newsletter.