Abstract
In recent years departments teaching courses in clothing and textiles have been challenged from a number of directions, including qualifications and/or lack of academic productivity of some faculty members. The evolving nature of the discipline and changing employment opportunities for graduates also suggest the need for accurate information. This Association of College Professors of Textiles and Clothing-sponsored study provides data on characteristics of current departments and anticipated future needs for faculty.
The majority of the academic units teaching clothing and textiles are Home Economics departments with fewer than four faculty members teaching in the subject area. Anticipated retirements indicate a fluctuating but continuing demand for faculty who have terminal degrees. Future faculty will need different qualifications than the people they replace. Merchandising or other industry experience is important, as are teaching experience and research/publishing expertise. Some faculty hired in the past five years have lacked desired qualifications, indicating that the pool of clothing and textiles professionals is not great enough to meet current needs.
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