UCSF School of Nursing celebrating 100 years of excellence

School of Nursing building -----

The UCSF School of Nursing is celebrating 100 years of nursing excellence with a year-long series of special events that honor the accomplishments of alumni and faculty and the leadership of nurses throughout the university.

Beginning with a “centennial kick-off” on the UCSF campus on September 13, the celebration will continue through the 2006-07 academic year. The events will culminate the week of June 7 next year with graduations, doctoral symposia, and an evening gala.

The School, consistently ranked among the best in the nation and number one in grants from the National Institutes of Health, is internationally renowned for research that advances health and for educating the next generation of leaders in nursing practice and policy worldwide.

“The roots of that excellence are 100 years deep, growing out of the spirit of renewal that rebuilt San Francisco after the great earthquake of 1906,” said Dean Kathleen Dracup, RN, FNP, DNSc. “We welcome the nursing and health sciences community to join our students and alumni, faculty and emeriti in a year of celebration and discussion, as some of the world’s most distinguished nurse scholars join us in addressing the health challenges that face us in the 21st century.”

Lectures and symposia are scheduled throughout the academic year, beginning with a September 28 address by Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania who is an expert on workforce issues.

In the spring, the UCSF School of Nursing Alumni Association will unveil a Wall of Fame in the nursing building to honor the achievements of 100 leaders associated with the School from every era and discipline. On Alumni Day, April 28, 2007, UCSF Nursing Press will host a book-launching event to celebrate its publication of the first complete history of the School, written by Associate Dean Emerita Marilyn Flood.

Nursing care and education began on the UCSF campus in April 1907, 51 weeks after the 1906 earthquake. The University of California had converted its still-standing College of Medicine on Parnassus Avenue to include a 42-bed hospital on two floors. The hospital provided care for San Franciscans, clinical experience for medical students, and initiated the university’s first diploma program for nurses. In 1917, the University of California Regents authorized a bachelor’s degree program for nurses, one of the first in the nation.  In 1939, the Regents reorganized the nurse education program to establish the UCSF School of Nursing, the first such autonomous school in any public university.  The School was the first in the West to offer a doctoral degree in nursing.

UCSF Medical Center also plans to commemorate its 100th year in 2007 by recognizing the achievements of UCSF nurses and other staff.

More information about the UCSF School of Nursing Centennial is available on-line at
Centennial

. The full schedule of events is as follows:

*  SCHOOL OF NURSING CENTENNIAL KICK-OFF
A Campuswide Celebration
September 13, 2006, Noon - 1:30 pm

*  DEAN’S CENTENNIAL LECTURE SERIES
Linda Aiken, PhD, RN, Director,
Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania September 28, 2006, Noon - 1:00 pm

Karen Luker, Dean, Manchester School of Nursing, Manchester, England December 6 - 8, 2006, Noon - 1:00 pm

Ruth Macklin, PhD, Professor of Bioethics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine February 15, 2007, Noon - 1:00 pm

*  HELEN NAHM RESEARCH LECTURE
Annual Community of Scholars Research Program April 27, 2007

*  NURSING ALUMNI DAY & CLASS REUNIONS
Announcement of 100 Members, Wall of Fame Book Launch: UCSF School of Nursing History April 28, 2007

*  DOCTORAL GRADUATE REUNION: Global Nursing Scholarship
Symposium: Women’s Health
Keynote Speaker: Afaf Meleis, PhD,
Dean, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing June 8 - June 9, 2007
Symposium: Building Global Research Networks June 11 - June 12, 2007

*  NURSING GRADUATION DAY
Keynote Speaker: Hiroko Minami, DNSc, RN, MPH President, International Council of Nurses June 8, 2007

CENTENNIAL BLACK TIE GALA
Inductions of Members: UCSF Nursing Wall of Fame June 9, 2007