Shoe Selling Class

From “This Week in Campus History...” as compiled by University Library Archives.

 

Giving the Boot to Students

In December of 1951, the University of Omaha College of Adult Education announced that it was offering a rather unorthodox new class, “Retail Shoe Selling.”

 

The text and outline for the class were developed by the Creative Footwear Institute. Topics of study included foot anatomy, shoe manufacturing processes and sales techniques. Visual aids and field trips were also an important part of the class.

 

Potential instructors for “Retail Shoe Selling” were university faculty and Omaha shoe retailers. Course moderator William Kirkman said there were very practical reasons for providing this learning opportunity. “An inexperienced shoe sales person is capable of fitting a person with shoes that might cripple him for life,” he noted. “He can do his work without benefit of license or fear of reproach.”