The College of Health and Human Sciences, Home Economics has enjoyed a long tradition at Purdue University. Its first iteration was the Department of Household Economics which began in 1905 within the School of Science. Department head since 1912, Mary L. Matthews was named dean when the department was established as the School of Home Economics in 1926. At this time, there were 368 undergraduate students and three graduate students enrolled and the school consisted of five departments: applied design, clothing and textiles, foods and nutrition, home administration, and institutional management. The School transitioned to the College of Consumer and Family Sciences in 1976, a move that significantly increased enrollment by male students.

On July 1, 2010, the College of Consumer and Family Sciences was changed to the College of Health and Human Sciences and now comprises of nine academic units. These include the Departments a/or Schools of: Consumer Science; Human Development and Family Studies; Health and Kinesiology; Health Sciences; Hospitality and Tourism Management; Nursing; Nutrition Science; Psychological Sciences; and Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. The College also added a separate Graduate Program in Public Health in 2014. Prior to the merge, these programs were housed in three colleges: the College of Liberal Arts, the now defunct Colleges of Pharmacy, Nursing, and Health Sciences and Consumer and Family Sciences.

Virginia Nilles was born in 1950 in Muncie, Indiana. She attended high school at Burris Laboratory School. She earned her Bacehlors from American University in Washington DC and a Masters of Library Science from the University of Michigan. Until her retirement in 2016, Nilles was the director of the Muncie Public Library for nearly 22 years. Nilles is also an indirect descendent of Virginia Meredith.