Dr. Joan Gritzmacher was recognized nationally for teaching entrepreneurship and was an expert in research methodology and design. In the classroom, and while advising more than 20 master’s and doctoral candidates, she focused on research and evaluation methods graduates could use in their careers. An outstanding educator, she was honored twice with Ohio State University’s Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching, first in 1977 and again in 1984.
She was co-editor of several books, including Home Economics Education: A Review and Synthesis of the Research and Child Development/Parent Education Program Effectiveness. In addition, she wrote chapters in texts such as Evaluation of Student Teaching in Home Economics and numerous journal articles. Her research included a national follow-up study of vocational consumer and human ecology students, as well as a comparison between female entrepreneurs and managers.
She was president and president pro-tern of the Ohio Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, the National Association of Family and Consumer Science Teacher Educators, the Franklin County Family and Consumer Sciences Association and Ohio State’s Association of Faculty and Professional Women. In addition, she served on many college, university, local, state and national committees.
She earned a master’s and Ph.D. in home economics education from Cornell University. She came from Purdue University to Ohio State in 1972. After retirement in 1995, she worked with the Ohio Department of Education’s Gender Equity Project for three years.
She continued as a staunch supporter of her profession and established the Joan E. Gritzmacher Endowed Fund for Family and Consumer Sciences Education Scholarships and the Joan E. Gritzmacher Endowed Fund for Family and Consumer Sciences Education. Dr. Gritzmacher passed away in November of 2012.