Virginia Cutler

Virginia Farrer Cutler (December 17, 1905 – May 20, 1993) was an American academic. She was the dean of the home economics department at the University of Utah[1] and Brigham Young University,[2] worked for the United States Point Four Program in Southeast Asia,[3] established a home science degree at the University of Ghana,[4] and served on the White House Consumer Committee.[3]

Virginia Farrer Cutler
Born
Virginia Grace Farrer

(1905-12-17)December 17, 1905
Park City, Utah, US
DiedMay 20, 1993(1993-05-20) (aged 87)
Spouse(s)
Ralph Garr Cutler
​
​
(m. 1929; died 1931)​

Early years

Virginia Farrer Cutler was born on December 17, 1905, in Park City, Utah. Her parents were Robert and Mary Farrer, both natives of Sandy, Utah.[3]:79 Robert Farrer worked as an electrical engineer[5] and Mary Anna (Jensen) Farrer held volunteer positions in the LDS Church while working in the home caring for Virginia and her six siblings.[6] Cutler grew up in Murray, Utah and graduated from Murray High School in 1922.[3]:3 At that time, Cutler entered and won a local home economics competition, for which she was awarded a four-year scholarship to the University of Utah.[3]:80 During her time at the University of Utah, Cutler participated in the school's home economics club. She graduated in 1927 with a degree in Education.[7] With her degree, Cutler went on to teach high school economics first in Manti, Utah and in the Jordan School District a short time later. While working at Jordan, Cutler met her husband, Ralph Garr Cutler. They were married on April 23, 1930.[3]:80 However, Ralph Cutler died in November 1931, leaving his wife with one small child and pregnant with another. After her husband's death, Virginia Cutler returned to teaching.

Education and teaching career

In 1935, Virginia Cutler and her two young sons moved to California. Cutler had enrolled at Stanford University on scholarship. Despite obstacles – including both of her children catching pneumonia and spending several weeks in the hospital with a broken back due to a car accident – Cutler completed her master's degree at Stanford in 1937.[3][8] She and her family remained in California for the next 8 years, where she worked for the University of California as a home demonstration agent. In 1944, again with the hope that more education would provide her children with more opportunities, Cutler moved to Ithaca, New York. For the next two years had a fellowship and was part of the doctoral program at Cornell University.[9]

In August 1946, the Fall after receiving her doctorate at Cornell, Cutler was named the home economics director at the University of Utah.[1] She worked in that position for the next 8 years, during which time she developed a unique "home values test" to help new families measure exactly what they wished to improve within their home.[10] Cutler's other accomplishments while at the University of Utah include raising funds for the National Home Economics Association's new D.C. headquarters,[11] speaking as a guest lecturer, and organizing an annual 'Career Days' event for high-school age women.[12] One of Cutler's main goals as dean of the home economics department at the University of Utah was to assist and encourage young women in receiving a higher education. She stated: "Every young woman needs two careers: One in the home, and one where she can earn a satisfactory living outside the home."[13] Cutler herself continued to do both: raising her two sons while maintaining a growing professional career.

Cutler was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.[14]

International and civil work

In 1954, Cutler was invited to be a technical advisor in home economics education for the U.S. International Cooperation Administration.[15] She was sent to Thailand on her first assignment, where she helped establish a national home economics program.[3] After two years in Thailand, Cutler was reassigned to Jakarta, Indonesia. She was in Indonesia for five years teaching home management, setting up new schools, and working (as the only American representative) with the home economics division of the Indonesian Ministry of Education.[16] While still in Indonesia, Cutler was named the new dean of the Brigham Young University College of Family Living, a position she would hold until 1972.[2] At the request of Cornell University, Cutler took a three-year leave of absence from BYU in 1966 to establish a degree course in home science at Ghana University.[4]

Death and legacy

Cutler died of Alzheimer's disease on May 20, 1993.[8] An annual lecture held at Brigham Young University is named for her.[17]

References
  1. "Olpin Picks Utah Woman to Head Home Economics Department". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 19 April 1946. p. 22. Retrieved April 29, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "New Dean Appointed for College of Family Living". The Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. July 27, 1961. p. 38. Retrieved April 29, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  3. Black, Susan Easton; Woodger, Mary Jane (2011). Women of Character: Profiles of 100 Prominent LDS Women. American Fork, Utah: Covenant Communications, Inc. p. 81.
  4. "Dr. Cutler Discovers How to Build a College Department From Nothing". The Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. 15 October 1969. p. 15. Retrieved April 29, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  5. "Intermountain Obituaries: Robert Farrer". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 26 April 1962. p. 24. Retrieved April 21, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Birthday Observance". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 27 May 1960. p. 89. Retrieved April 21, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  7. Pearce, Obra, ed. (1927). Utonian. Salt Lake City, Utah: Eliot-Gates. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  8. "Virginia Cutler Fellowship". University of Utah. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  9. Gardner, Cynthia M. (1985). "Virginia Cutler- Her Heart Is Where the Home Is". The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  10. "Homes- Designed to Fit: Unique Test Designed by Utah Economist Offers Guide to Building House to Fit Family". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 1 February 1948. p. 81. Retrieved April 29, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  11. "Home Economists Seeking National Building Fund". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 12 October 1947. p. 44. Retrieved April 29, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  12. "U. of U. Schedules 'Career Days'". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 5 February 1951. p. 7. Retrieved April 29, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  13. "Among U Women". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 9 September 1951. p. 109. Retrieved April 29, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  14. Russell W. Stevenson, For The Cause of Righteousness: A Global History of Blacks and Mormonism: 1830-2013 p. 72.
  15. "'72 Mother of the Year Nominations: AAUW Select Dr. Cutler". The Daily Herald. Provo, Utah. 29 February 1972. p. 12. Retrieved April 29, 2016 – via newspapers.com.
  16. "Dr. Virginia Cutler Helps Young Nation Meet It: Indonesia--Land of Challenge". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. 20 May 1959. p. 34. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  17. Annual Virginia F. Cutler lecture information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF). Retrieved on May 20, 2016.
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