About Carolyn Ducey
Carolyn Ducey is Curator of Collections at the International Quilt Study Center & Museum at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a position she has held since 1998. She is chair of the IQSCM Acquisitions Committee, and authored the IQSCM Collections Plan. She fields potential donations and sales in the area of American and European quilts, including both traditional examples and studio art quilts, providing analysis of the current IQSCM holdings for Acquisition Committee members as they vote on new quilts and related items for the IQSCM collection. Ducey, along with the IQSCM Collections Manager, oversees the ongoing care and management of the IQSCM collection of nearly 4000 quilts.
Ducey annually develops and curates exhibitions held at the IQSCM and at national and international venues, including “SAQA Showcase: Studio Art Quilt Associates Invitational” (2013) and “Chintz Appliqué: From Imitation to Icon” (2008) and co-curated and co-authored a dual exhibition and catalog “Quilts in Common,” and “Nancy Crow: Cloth, Culture, Context,” in 2008 for the inaugural exhibitions of the IQSCM’s museum, Quilt House. She is also author of the accompanying monograph Chintz Appliqué: from Imitation to Icon, (2008), and co-author of What’s in a Name: Inscribed Quilts (2012) and Wild by Design: Innovation and Artistry in American Quilts (2003).
Ducey earned an M.A. in American Art History from Indiana University in 1998, and her Ph.D.in Textiles, Clothing & Design, with an emphasis in Quilt Studies at the University of Nebraska in 2010. Her research focused on 1840s chintz applique signature quilts made in the Delaware River Valley and resulted in two publications: “Reminiscences of Women’s Work: Ann Rhees and the Chintz Appliqué Album Quilts of the First Baptist Church of Philadelphia.”(Uncoverings, American Quilt Study Group, 2011) and “From the United Kingdom to the United States: The Evolution of Chintz Applique Quilts,” (Quilt Studies, British Quilt Study Group, 2010).
About the lecture
Dr. Elizabeth Empey, a former Dean of the Faculty of Home Economics, was a vibrant member of the university community and made an outstanding contribution in her career in home economics and dietetics. Her leadership, vision, persistence, courage, compassion, and generosity were widely-admired.
Dr. Empey was appointed Director of the School of Household Economics. In 1976, when the School became the Faculty of Home Economics, Empey served as the faculty’s first dean.
In 1988, to honour her many contributions to the profession of Home Economics and Nutrition, the Faculty of Home Economics founded the Empey Lecture, now in its 25th year, an annual public talk delivered on a topic related to Family Studies, Clothing and Textiles, or Nutrition.
Department of Human Ecology
Creating healthy human environments for everyday living.
Human Ecology is an interdisciplinary applied field that uses a holistic systems approach to examine the many contexts of people’s lives. In particular, we focus on the dynamic relationships people have with their near environments: clothing, family, home and community. Our mission is to create healthy human environments that enhance the quality of daily life.
Visit the Department of Human Ecology web page for more information.