Message from the President
The publication you are reading is a giant step forward. Did the founding members of our Alumni Association have any idea that their goal of university-based nursing education would 111 years later be the school that now resides at 525 N. Wolfe Street? Did they conceive of doctoral degrees in nursing? Did they dream that the Alumni Association and the school would work hand in hand on preserving our heritage through the archives project, or a book depicting the history of nursing education at Johns Hopkins or a combined professional publication? I’m sure they did not know what form this would all take, but they knew the nurses who make Hopkins great would continue to prepare nurses who make Hopkins great.
When they developed the Alumni Association, early graduates of our school had a goal to work toward university-based nursing education. They also provided continuing education and networking opportunities. Of course, they did not use those words to describe their activities, but that is what they were doing. Now that we have university-based nursing education, the Alumni Association has to assess its direction and be sure to attract graduates of the university school or our association will disappear with the passing of the last graduates of the diploma school.
Several years ago, we started the archival project to preserve documentation illuminating the history of Johns Hopkins nursing education. It was obvious that we had a rich heritage, but we needed to do something to preserve and document that history. We began a mutually beneficial collaboration with the Alan Mason Chesney Medical Archives at Johns Hopkins. The benefits of that collaboration can be viewed in the display cases at the School of Nursing and are featured in this publication. When we began this project, we thought there would be an end. But, since history keeps generating itself, this is a continuing process.
Another project we have undertaken is the publication of a book about the history of nursing education at Johns Hopkins. Although we began to write a book that would start in the 1950s and end with the close of the diploma school in 1973, we decided the volume should continue to chronicle the school through the 20 plus years of university-based nursing education. Consequently, Mame Warren, editor of Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World, was hired to produce the history of Hopkins nursing. This will include the manuscripts that alumni Linda Sabin ’67 and Fran Keen ’70 have worked on so hard. Completion is scheduled to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the graduation of the first class from the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing in 2006.
As we work on these two efforts with the School of Nursing, we thought it best to continue the collaboration and publish a professional magazine. This is our first combined publication. We are thrilled to be working together, bringing you alumni, student, faculty, and professional news. As we move forward with this project we would like your comments regarding its format as well as its content. So please write, email or call and let us know how you feel about this new publication.
One of our primary goals is to help recent graduates of the SON feel as close to the school as those of us from previous generations feel. New graduates can show that support by joining the Alumni Association and in return they will receive the benefits of continued professional growth and associations.