Bess B. Caldwell, former faculty member in the
Department of Human Ecology, died Friday, December 14, 2001, at
the age of 94. She is survived by her nieces, nephews, and her
friends, many of whom are her former students.
Ms. Caldwell was born in Utley, Texas, on June 10, 1907. She earned
a B.S. from The University of Texas at Austin in 1928 and then
completed postgraduate work in the summers before receiving an
M.A. from Columbia Teachers College in New York. Further graduate
work was done at Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College.
She taught in the public schools of Alpine, Texas, from 1928 to
1931, and in Austin and San Antonio from 1933 to 1937. She served
the Texas Education Agency in Austin as assistant state supervisor
of home economics education from 1931 to 1933, and as a traveling
teacher trainer from 1937 to 1940. From 1943 to 1944, she was director
of the Cost of Living Survey for the U.S. Department of Labor in
Dallas; from 1944 to 1945, she was associate economist and did
analysis for the National War Labor Board in Kansas City, Missouri.
In 1945, Ms. Caldwell moved to Austin and became an assistant professor
of home economics education for the University of Texas, and worked
for the University until her retirement in 1973. In the summers
of 1952 and 1953, Ms. Caldwell again served the Texas Education
Agency, as an area supervisor of home and family life education.
She was a research associate for the Humanities Research Center
at the University during the summers of 1968 to 1971.
Although she lived most of her life in Texas, Ms. Caldwell traveled
widely, particularly in Europe and the Far East. She was awarded
a Fulbright Fellowship to be a lecturer for the U.S. State Department
in Pakistan from 1961 to 1962. She received a Certificate of
Commendation for this work in Lahore, Pakistan from the U.S.
Educational Foundation.
She was a member of a number of state and national organizations
in the fields of home economics and vocational education. In
addition, she was a member of the Texas Association of College
Teachers,
for which she served as vice president in 1955, and the American
Association of University Women. Ms. Caldwell was listed in Who’s
Who of American Women in 1977-1978.
Ms. Caldwell is fondly remembered by her colleagues and former
students as a dedicated and masterful teacher who had faith in
her students and inspired them by example to do their very best.
<Signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<Signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee
consisting of Professors Martha B. Gillham (chair), Catherine
A. Surra, and Jean T. Sutherland.
