Texas Woman s University College of Nursing. 60th Anniversary. Carolyn S. Gunning. April

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1 Texas Woman s University College of Nursing 60th Anniversary Carolyn S. Gunning April Thank you for inviting me to speak at this final event celebrating a very proud history of nursing at TWU. On the occasion of the 50th Anniversary I presented a brief history of the College. In preparing that I was fortunate that I had access to materials on file within the College of Nursing, including files on the first dean Faye Pannell. I also took liberally from the book Marking a Trail: A History of the Texas Woman s University by Joyce Thompson. Today I will present some of that history and add some significant accomplishments during the past 10 years. So, let us go back to the beginning. Nursing at TWU is actually much older than we are celebrating today. The 1901 legislation that established the Girls' Industrial College expressly identified programs of study to be developed. Included was instruction in "trained nursing" and "caring for the sick." In 1907 the legislature appropriated $6,000 for a hospital and home nursing department. As early as 1940 the Board of Regent's approved a plan whereby students could earn a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. The five-year program was established in response to requests for additional academic training for nurses and

2 2 included a year of prescribed courses on campus, three years of training in a recognized nursing school (after which the student could qualify as a Registered Nurse), and a final year at TSCW. (Thompson, p 125) So, in essence, our first formal nursing program was an RN-BS program! In 1952 TSCW received a grant from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation to establish a practical nursing program. This was one of only five such programs in the nation and was designed to help alleviate a growing shortage of registered nurses by training practical nurses. Ten thousand dollars were designated for facilities and reference materials. An additional $10,000 per year for 5 years was provided to cover instructor's salaries and a recruitment program. (Thompson, p. 138) Talk about faculty being underpaid!! The practical program complemented the five-year degree program, but soon a newer and better alternative to both programs was developed. Recognizing the heightened urgency of its responsibility to help meet a critical national shortage of professional nurses, in 1953 TSCW seized upon what was clearly an unusually promising situation to initiate an outstanding program in nursing education. What is now the Dallas County Hospital District was in the process of construction of a new teaching hospital within the fast-developing Southwestern

3 3 Medical Center complex. By arranging for the utilization of the new facility, TSCW was able to establish a superior nursing program in which students would benefit from taking all their clinical courses within the geographical confines of one very large, versatile, and well-administered metropolitan hospital. It was agreed that the goal would be a baccalaureate program of forward-looking design and high quality. In keeping with the dual purpose of TSCW from its beginning, the nursing program was designed to offer students both the best of a liberal arts education and the best of practical professional training. (Thompson, p. 138) The first curriculum contained 168 credit hours. The Parkland Hospital School of Nursing began in Since the TWU baccalaureate program replaced the diploma program, we really have a 100- year legacy of excellence. The Parkland School of Nursing was accredited by the National League for Nursing in 1950, becoming the first nationally accredited school in Texas. The last class, of 80 students, was admitted to the Parkland program in September 1954 at the same time that the first class, of 69 students, was admitted to the TSCW baccalaureate program. Miss Faye Pannell, the Director of the Parkland Hospital Program, was appointed the first Dean of Nursing and remained as dean until her death in She led the smooth transition between the diploma program and the baccalaureate program and later led the initiation of a master's program. TSCW was extremely fortunate to have a visionary leader such as Faye Pannell to lead the

4 4 implementation of the new baccalaureate-nursing program. I would like to read to you from a letter written in 1983 by Dr. Delores Alford (who many of us know and love to this day) when nominating Faye Pannell for the ANA Nursing Hall of Fame. When I came to Texas in 1957 everyone knew who Faye Pannell was-she was considered Texas' Nurse.' I cannot recount the number of times nurses spoke of her with awe. Not every nurse could persuade a well-known large diploma school like Parkland Hospital to close and become the clinical laboratory for a baccalaureate nursing program... Yet, she accomplished this tremendous feat over very stiff opposition. Therefore, almost single-handedly Faye Pannell brought collegiate nursing education to North Texas." In the files, I found a copy of testimony given by Dean Pannell to the Texas Senate Public Health Committee on behalf of a bill to establish mandatory licensure in Texas. Although not dated, I believe this must have been in the early 1960's. The following quotation is of particular interest, "There is nothing in the Bill which can make the shortage of nurse power in our State more acute. The shortage will become more acute only if we do not create an environment in the work settings for nurses which will permit the qualified professional nurse practitioner to gain enough job satisfaction that she will want to remain in practice." Some things have not changed much in 50 years.

5 5 The success of the new college was phenomenal. By 1955 the enrollment in the program was 180, and reached 428 by the end of the decade. The number of degrees awarded climbed from one in 1950 to 65 in By 1958 it had become apparent that continuing growth at the rate of the first four years would soon tax the capacity of the facilities that had been made available by the Dallas County Hospital District. Fortunately this need was addressed by developments that originated in the Texas Medical Center in Houston. In the course of an independent survey of needs in the field of nursing education at the Texas Medical Center, the Center's Executive Committee became interested in the possibilities of having a clinical training program in Houston similar in scope and quality to the one TWU had established in Dallas. Dr. Frederick C. Elliott, the Executive Director of the Texas Medical Center, wrote that, This [the TWU operation] is one of the best planned programs in nursing education in the United States." TWU officially accepted an invitation to establish a clinical center in Houston. The Texas Medical Center provided a tract of land; grants from the MD Anderson Foundation and the Houston Endowment provided for a classroom building; and the Good Samaritan Club of Houston built a dormitory. Of significance is the fact that the Houston Center was built with no state funds. The completion of the facilities in Houston enabled TWU to work toward a goal

6 6 of doubling its enrollment of nursing majors. The original space was designed to accommodate 76 in-coming sophomores each year. Later expansion allowed an in-coming class of 150 sophomore students in nursing and added space for physical therapy and occupational therapy students. With the enrollment doubled, TWU again faced the issue of space restrictions. By 1963 there were 721 nursing students enrolled. With support from the Dallas County Hospital District and other organizations, TWU opened the new Dallas Center in The new space was projected to allow TWU to again double its enrollment in nursing. Governor John Connelly spoke at the dedication and praised the TWU College of Nursing, not only as the largest such college in the Southwest but also as one of the finest in the United States. When the master's program was initiated in 1966, there was only one other master's program in Texas. The purpose of the program was to prepare clinical nurse specialists, and psychiatric mental health nursing was the first specialty offered. In 1968, the first four students graduated; by 1970 twenty-four master's degrees were awarded. The program was initiated in Houston in In 1966 one of the most renowned nurses of the time, Lucile Petry Leone, joined TWU as a member of the Houston faculty. In 1968 she became the Associate Dean in Dallas, where she served until Among her legions of

7 7 accomplishments we r e her services as President of the National League for Nursing, director of nursing education for the United States Public Health Service, and director of the United States Cadet Nurse Program during World War II. She was the first woman to attain the rank of Assistant Surgeon General of the United States. An article in the Dallas Morning News June 24, 1969 says, "Mrs. Leone notes, though, that the nursing shortage in this country differs from the public's picture of it. The nation has more nurses than ever before; their number grows faster than the general population. But running far out in front and gaining steadily is the demand for nursing services." Doesn t this sound familiar? In 1979, on the 25th Anniversary of the College of Nursing, Lucile Petry Leone was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Texas Woman's University, the eighth institution to award her an honorary doctoral degree. By 1969, the College of Nursing was enrolling more students (1,265) than any other department at TWU. In 1970, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board approved the offering of the Doctor of Philosophy degree in nursing. The purpose of the program was to prepare scholars, leaders, and researchers in nursing, and it was the first nursing doctoral program in the Southwest. The first students were admitted in 1971 and the program was extended to Houston in 1982.

8 8 The 1970s were a time of expansion as TWU built the Presbyterian campus and new additions at both Dallas-Parkland and Houston. In 1974, again in response to a need to increase enrollment, TWU initiated upper division nursing courses on the Denton campus for the first time in its history. This practice continued until the late 1980s. As is apparent, the College has always focused on increasing enrollment to meet society s need for nurses. In Fall, 2014 There were 2,224 undergraduate nursing majors, 881 master s students, and 149 doctoral students. In , 690 degrees were awarded. As physical facilities became old and tired, new ones took their place. In 2006 the new Institute of Health Sciences was opened in Houston. As with the original buildings in Houston, no state funds were used for the building; it was totally financed by private donations. Likewise, In Dallas private donations allowed the building of the T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health Sciences that opened in Both buildings include state of the art classrooms, labs, and technology. Just as the College has responded to a need for more nurses, it has also responded to the need for new programs. In 2003 when I left the deanship I reported to faculty on some of their accomplishments over the preceding 12 years. New program initiatives included: the RN-MS program, nurse practitioner master's programs, a nursing administration master's program with a minor in health care

9 9 administration, a nurse educator master's program, post-master's certificate programs, and a distance learning doctoral program. Since that time other new programs have been added including a week-end/evening only BS program, the clinical nurse leader master s program, and the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. At TWU the College of Nursing has also led the way in securing external funding. In 1986, a gift from the Parry Foundation established the Parry Nursing Chair in Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, the only endowed chair at TWU at that time. The College of Nursing continues to receive more gifts and donations than any other college at TWU. A $1 million dollar gift from the estate of Mattie Mae Glover Wilkinson is a continuing source of funds to pay for needs not met by the state budget. With major scholarship gifts from the Parry Foundation and the John Winston Carter family, the College has the largest scholarship endowments in the university. A $3 million gift from the Starck Foundation allowed the naming of the College of Nursing in Houston as the Nelda C. Starck College of Nursing. A $5 million gift from Florence A. Doswell led to naming the Houston J. and Florence A. Doswell College of Nursing in Dallas. This gift was also used to establish two endowed chairs, one in teaching excellence and one in informatics. According to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs the College was awarded over $4 million in external grants in the academic year. I will

10 10 give just two examples of this funding. The College of Nursing in Houston is participating in a $200 million initiative designed to increase the number of advanced practice nurses. TWU, with its partners, is one of just five sites nationally participating in this demonstration project. In Dallas, the College received one of only three VA Nursing Academic Partnership Grants. This program provides support to increase undergraduate enrollment, develop educational experiences geared to providing care to veterans, and create a post-baccalaureate nursing residency, among other things. As I review this History, I find several recurrent themes. The College of Nursing was founded to address a shortage of registered nurses. Each time there was a nursing shortage TWU led the field in producing new nurses. Each time there was a need for better-educated nurses TWU led in the development of new programs. All of this has been accomplished while maintaining the goal of achieving excellence. We have always been among the leaders. Faye Pannell was a leader in establishing baccalaureate! nursing in Texas. TWU led the development of graduate education in Texas. We have been the leaders in distance doctoral education. We led the movement in establishing partnerships with hosp itals to increase the number of faculty. TWU nursing graduates number well over 15,000. We are everywhere throughout the world. All those who work with TWU graduates recognize the excellence of their educational preparation. Our graduates are leaders in nursing education, health care, and research both in the United States and internationally.

11 11 Each of you should be very proud of your alma mater. Our history is truly incredible and I feel honored to have been a part of it.

12 References Correspondence in files of Faye Pannell and Lucile Petry Leone, located in 1WU College of Nursing files. Report to Board of Regents, "Long Range Planning in the Field of Nursing Education," November 10,1966. Reports to the Board of Nurse Examiners for the State of Texas, on file in the TWU College of Nursing. Report of the consultation visit by Dr. Margaret Bridgman, May 11, On file in the 1WU College of Nursing Text of Graduation Address by Lucile Petry Leone, December 16, 1979 Thompson, Joyce, (1982}. Marking a Trail: A History of the Texas Woman's University. Denton: Texas Woman's University Press.