1
25
4
-
https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/files/original/5579c09c118773d7b49e26164f539877.jpg
30840d4f75ee7ee97257f7f327cacb5a
Person - VNHOF Nurse
An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. - for Virginia Nursing Hall of Fame
Birth Date
1902-11-23
Birthplace
Somerset, Orange County, Virginia
Death Date
1985-09-01
Biographical Text
Roy C. Beazley, like a number of her peers, began her work as a public school teacher. She completed a two-year program designed to prepare women to teach in elementary schools at the Fredericksburg State Normal School for Women in 1921. Beazley was employed first in the Orange County Public Schools and then moved to Albemarle County where she taught for four years. In 1927, Beazley decided to make a career change and returned to school to begin her education in nursing. She and her sister, Edith, entered the University of Virginia Hospital School of Nursing that year and graduated in 1930. After working for a short time as a private duty nurse, she joined the staff of the University of Virginia Hospital where she held the positions head nurse, night supervisor, and finally assistant director of nurses. She benefited from the influence of Superintendent of Nursing, Josephine McLeod, who was known for her efforts to improve the hospital’s nursing services and upgrade the educational standards. McLeod asked Beazley to become an instructor in the program in 1936. <br /><br />In 1946, Beazley was appointed to the dual position of director of nursing services and director of nursing education for the University Hospital. She was the last person to hold this combined position. Working with Dr. Carlisle Lentz and others she secured full accreditation from the National League of Nursing Education for the university’s hospital-based diploma program. An advocate for baccalaureate education for nurses, Beazley sought a university-based nursing education program. In 1949 she presented a plan for a five-year baccalaureate program that included two years of college course work followed by the three-year nursing program. The University of Virginia Board of Visitors agreed to establish an undergraduate nursing school in June of 1949 and the first students were admitted in 1950. By 1953, Beazley and others had persuaded the Board of Visitors to create a Department of Nursing Education to oversee the diploma, generic baccalaureate, and the Cabaniss Memorial School of Nursing Education programs. Beazley served as the department’s first director but soon relinquished control to Mary Walker Randolph so she could focus on developing the hospital nursing services department. <br /><br />As head of the hospital's nursing services department Beazley recognized that there was a role for another level of worker in addition to the registered nurse in providing patient care. She was also aware of a need among African American students in the public schools in Charlottesville for a course in the health field. With knowledge of the successful practical nursing programs in Norfolk, Richmond, Staunton, and Hampton that were offered jointly by the local school systems and community hospitals Beazley initiated discussions that led to the establishment of the Jackson P. Burley High School-University of Virginia Hospital School of Practical Nursing in 1951. <br /><br />Beazley was actively professionally on the local, state, and national level. She was active in the District Nurses Association and the Charlottesville League for Nursing and she served on various committees of both the Virginia League for Nursing and the Virginia Nurses Association. Beazley was also a member of the American Public Health Association, the American Nurses Association, and the National League for Nursing. In 1951, Governor John S. Battle appointed her to the first of two five-year terms on the Virginia Board of Nursing. She served as the president of the Board from 1954 through 1960. During her tenure as President, she participated in meetings related to the beginning of the associate degree program when two of the original programs included in the pilot project were located in Virginia. Under Beazley’s leadership, the Board approved a significant number of nursing and practical nursing programs, heard and resolved an increasing number of cases of involving allegations of chemical dependency against licensees, and administered an increasing number of licensing examinations. Beazley was one of the Board of Nursing members that met regularly with the representatives of the Medical Society of Virginia to discuss a variety of questions and items of common interest. <br /><br />Beazley has been honored by her peers, the Virginia Nurses Association and the University of Virginia. Beazley was the first woman to be named professor emeritus at the University of Virginia. She was a strong supporter of the University of Virginia School of Nursing Alumni Association. The school established the Roy C. Beazley Undergraduate Merit Scholarship in her honor. In 1985, the Alumni Association presented its Distinguished Nursing Alumnae Award to her posthumously. The Virginia Nurses Association first honored Beazley with its most prestigious award, the Nancy Vance Pin Award in 1960 and subsequently named her one of fifty-one Pioneer Nurses in Virginia during its Centennial Celebration in 2000.
Highlights
<ul>
<li>Director of Nursing Education and Department of Nursing Services, University of Virginia Hospital</li>
<li>Vice President, Virginia Nurses Association</li>
<li>Began a practical nursing program for African American women</li>
<li>President of the Virginia Board of Nursing,</li>
<li>First woman named professor emerita at the University of Virginia</li>
</ul>
Education
<ul>
<li><span>Orange County, Virginia Public Schools</span></li>
<li>State Normal School for Women, (now University of Mary Washington) Fredericksburg, Virginia, 1921</li>
<li>University of Virginia Hospital School of Nursing, Charlottesville, Virginia, 1930</li>
<li>University of Virginia Cabaniss Memorial School of Nursing Education, Bachelor of Science in Nursing Education, 1941</li>
<li>Teachers College, Columbia University, Master of Arts in Administration of Schools of Nursing, 1953</li>
</ul>
Nursing CV
<ul>
<li><span>Orange County, Virginia Public Schools, teacher, 1921-1923</span></li>
<li>Albemarle County, Virginia Public Schools, teacher, 1923-1927</li>
<li>University of Virginia Hospital, Charlottesville, Virginia, Private duty nurse, head nurse, instructor, assistant director of nurses, 1930-1946</li>
<li>University of Virginia Hospital, Charlottesville, Virginia, Director of Nursing Education and Department of Nursing Services, 1946-1952</li>
<li>University of Virginia, Director, Department of Nursing Education, 1952-1953</li>
<li>University of Virginia Hospital, Charlottesville, Virginia, Director of Nursing Services, 1952-1969</li>
</ul>
Death Place
Charlottesville, Virginia
Introduction
<p>During her 40-year career at the University of Virginia, Roy Beazley made significant contributions to nursing education, nursing services, and the nursing profession. She helped to secure full national accreditation for the diploma program, transform the nursing program into a university-based school, and initiate a practical nursing program for African American women. An active professional Beazley served an unprecedented seven years as president of the Virginia Board of Nursing.</p>
<p class="quote">"Convincing the all-male University of Virginia faculty and administration that nursing was an intellectual endeavor worthy of a place and an autonomous school in the University community was an extraordinary accomplishment."<br /><br /><span class="quote-attrib">Roy C. Beazley Citation from Virginia Pioneer Nurses: A Century to Celebrate Centennial Celebration Program, May 3, 2000 Virginia Nurses Association</span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Roy Carpenter Beazley
Class of 2009
-
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6e9caa858112d97e2f2eb8de86dce3cf
Person - VNHOF Nurse
An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. - for Virginia Nursing Hall of Fame
Birth Date
1916-04-19
Birthplace
Baltimore, Maryland
Death Date
2008-02-20
Biographical Text
Mary Elizabeth Carnegie began her professional career as a registered nurse in the Veterans Hospital in Tuskegee Alabama. After a year she transferred to Freedmen’s Hospital in Washington, D.C. and enrolled in college course work at nearby Howard University. When West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University) offered to cover the cost of her education if she would work in return as the school nurse, Carnegie relocated and earned her degree in 1942.<br /><br /> Following her West Virginia experience Carnegie joined the faculty of the St. Philip Hospital School of Nursing in Richmond, Virginia, as a clinical instructor in obstetric nursing. This diploma program for African American students was part of the Medical College of Virginia that administered a school for white nursing students. After only a year, Carnegie accepted an offer from Hampton Institute to help establish a baccalaureate nursing program. With a white director in place at Hampton, Carnegie decided to continue her education and headed to the University of Toronto in 1944. There she met her future husband Eric Carnegie.<br /><br /> After completing her certificate program in Toronto Carnegie accepted an offer to become dean of the nursing program at Florida Agricultural & Mechanical College, now Florida A&M University. She remained in that position until 1953. Under her leadership, the School of Nursing was the first in Florida to be accredited by the National League for Nursing. During her tenure at Florida A&M, Carnegie began her push for the advancement of minority nurses. She almost single-handedly broke the racial barriers in professional nursing in Florida. During the late 1940s she endured numerous meetings where she was refused a room and meals at segregated hotels in Florida. After an initial appointment as a “courtesy member” of the Florida State Nurses Association she was elected to the board of directors in her own right.<br /><br /> In 1948, she was the first African American to serve on the Florida State Nurses Association Board of Directors and was reelected the following year to a three-year term by a large majority. Carnegie continued her education during her stay in Florida and was awarded a Master of Arts degree at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York in 1952. The following year, she left nursing education to join the staff of the American Journal of Nursing Company. There, Carnegie was assistant editor for the <em>American Journal of Nursing</em> for two years, associate, and then senior editor of <em>Nursing Outlook</em> for 13 years. After receiving her Doctor of Public Administration degree from New York University in 1972, Carnegie was named editor of <em>Nursing Research</em> in 1973 and editor emeritus upon her retirement in 1978. Carnegie served as a member, and later chairman of the Ana Minority Fellowship Program. Her book <em>The Path We Tread: Blacks in Nursing 1854-1984</em> was published in 1986 and continued to its third edition retitled <em>The Path We Tread: Blacks in Nursing Worldwide 1854-1994</em>. In addition she wrote other books, contributed to nearly twenty texts and numerous articles. Carnegie noted in Hattie Bessent’s <em>The Soul of Black Leadership</em> that: "If I have done anything by taking a stand for racial equality in the nursing profession and making sure that black nurses are in the literature, having been left out for so long, I feel that I have fulfilled my purpose for having been in this World." <br /><br />Carnegie was active throughout her career in professional organizations at all levels. She began with membership in the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses and its state constituents. She also belonged to others including the American Nurses Association and its constituent state and district associations, the National League for Nursing and the National Black Nurses Association. The New York State Nurses Association named Carnegie as a lifetime member. The Alpha Omega Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International conferred honorary membership on Carnegie in 1978 and she served on the Board of Directors of Sigma Theta Tau International.<br /><br /> Carnegie was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and served at its first African American President. She was subsequently honored as a Living Legend by the Academy and the organization presented its Dorothy Ford Buschmann Award to Carnegie in 1999. The Carnegie Fund, housed within the NLN Foundation, had its origin when Undine Sams presented a ten dollar donation to the Nurses Charitable Fund, District 5, Pennsylvania Nurses Association. Carnegie subsequently helped to raise additional money and it became The Dr. Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Endowed Fund with the first grant awarded in 2007. Carnegie also served as one of the project directors for the Seatlantic Fund, begun in 1965 to sponsor programs in nursing education for the disadvantaged. As Carnegie notes in <em>The Path We Tread</em>: “Were it not for the associate degree programs in the community colleges, with low cost to the students and flexible standards , in terms of age, marital status, sex and race, many qualified Black students would be lost to the field of nursing.” <br /><br />In 1977, Hampton University established the Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Archives. This archive was the first in the nation designated as a repository for historical documents on minority nurses, particularly African American. Carnegie received numerous awards including the Mabel K. Staupers Award from Chi Eta Phi, the Mary Mahoney Award form the American Nurses Association, the Estelle Osborne Award from New York University, the Southern Nursing Research Society Minority Researcher Award, the Lillian Wald Award, and recognition awards from the New York State Nurses Association and the University of Pennsylvania. Several Universities and colleges conferred honorary doctoral degrees on Carnegie including Hunter College, State University of the State of New York, Marian College, Indiana University, Thomas Jefferson University, Virginia Commonwealth University, Syracuse University, and Pace University.<br /><br />Following her official retirement in 1978, Carnegie continued to influence nursing as she served as a distinguished visiting professor in the Schools of Nursing at Hampton University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Pennsylvania State University, Indiana University, University of Massachusetts, University of Michigan and Virginia Commonwealth University. Howard University Division of Nursing established its Mary Elizabeth Carnegie Visiting Professorship in Nursing Research in her honor. Further recognitions included induction into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame, the Florida Nurses Association Hall of Fame, the West Virginia State Hall of Fame and the Columbia University Hall of Fame. In 2000, the Virginia Nurses Association recognized Carnegie as one of fifty-one Pioneer Nurses in Virginia.
Highlights
<ul>
<li>Initiated first baccalaureate nursing program in Virginia at Hampton Institute (now Hampton University)</li>
<li>Dean of the Florida A&M University School of Nursing</li>
<li>Chief Editor, <em>Nursing Research</em></li>
<li>President of the Florida State Association of Colored Graduate Nurses</li>
<li>President of the American Academy of Nursing</li>
<li>Author of <em>The Path We Tread: Blacks in Nursing Worldwide 1854-1994</em></li>
</ul>
Education
<ul>
<li><span>Dunbar High School, Washington, District of Columbia, 1932</span></li>
<li>Lincoln Hospital School for Nurses, Bronx, New York, 1937<span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>West Virginia State College, Institute, West Virginia, Bachelor of Arts, 1942</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>University of Toronto, Certificate in Administration in of Schools of Nursing, 1945</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, Master of Administration in Higher Education, 1952</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>New York University, New York, New York, Doctor of Public Administration, 1972</span></li>
</ul>
Nursing CV
<ul>
<li><span>Veterans Hospital, Tuskegee, Alabama</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Freedman’s Hospital, Washington, District of Columbia</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Homer G. Phillips Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri</span><br /><span>St Philip Hospital School of Nursing, Richmond, Virginia, Clinical Instructor in Obstetrical Nursing, 1942</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Hampton Institute, (now Hampton University) Hampton, Virginia, Director of the Division of Nurse Education, 1943-1944</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Florida A&M University School of Nursing, Dean, 1945-1953</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>American Journal of Nursing Company, New York, New York, Assistant Editor, </span><em>American Journal of Nursing, </em><span>1953-1955</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Associate, then Senior Editor, </span><em>Nursing Outlook, </em><span>1956-1969</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Chief Editor, </span><em>Nursing Research</em><span>, 1973-1978</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Editor Emeritus, </span><em>Nursing Research, </em><span>1978-2008</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Visiting Professor at Hampton University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro,Pennsylvania State University, Indiana University, University of Massachusetts, University of Michigan and Virginia Commonwealth University</span></li>
</ul>
Death Place
Chevy Chase, Maryland
Introduction
A nationally renowned nurse minority advocate, Elizabeth Carnegie affected health and social welfare globally through her sustained commitment to equality in nursing practice, education, administration, research, and scholarship. She began her teaching career on the faculty of the St. Philip School of Nursing at the Medical College of Virginia. Her pioneering work included the initiation of a four-year baccalaureate nursing program at Hampton University, the first in Virginia. Carnegie helped break racial barriers and paved the way for the advancement of African American nurses. <br /><br />"Dr. Mary Elizabeth Carnegie exchanged time for eternity last Wednesday, but her light on this earth will continue to shine through the numerous nurses, students, faculty, patients and families whom she touched exponentially." <br /><br />Pamela Hammond, PhD, RN, “A Memorial Tribute: Dr. Mary Elizabeth Carnegie, FAAN,” <em>ABNF Journal</em> Spring 2008
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Mary Elizabeth Carnegie
Class of 2009
-
https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/files/original/74c85cb9975ea7e19972a7a78cfe0869.jpg
5e5dbdbf69ecbc262cb9fded8ccda4d2
Person - VNHOF Nurse
An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. - for Virginia Nursing Hall of Fame
Birth Date
1882-01-03
Birthplace
Gauley Bridge, West Virginia
Death Date
1960-02-15
Biographical Text
Jessie Wetzel Faris, a native of West Virginia, attended public and private schools in Florida before entering the Retreat for the Sick Training School in Richmond, Virginia. An early reference to Faris is found in the minutes of the Virginia Board of Nursing when “Miss Jessie Wetzel” was identified as one of 44 candidates who took the licensing examination on June 19, 1907. She passed the examination and received her certificate of licensure. Later in her life, when she gave her annual report as executive secretary of the Graduated Nurses Association of Virginia in 1937, she reflected on her pride in receiving this certificate. Faris noted that it was signed by Sadie Health Cabaniss, first president of both the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia and the Virginia State Board of Nurse Examiners, and Leah deLancey Hanger, the first secretary-treasurer of the Board of Nurse Examiners, and that it was issued to the person who became the first executive secretary of the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia. <br /><br />Faris was married twice, both times to physicians. Her first husband, Franklin Minor Clark, graduated from the Medical College of Virginia. He died prematurely and left Fais with a baby boy, Bruce Lloyd Clark. Her second husband was Ralph S. Faris, a homeopathic physician who practiced in Richmond, Virginia.<br /><br />Faris began her professional career as a private duty nurse in Charleston, West Virginia. When she relocated to Richmond she held progressively responsible positions with both the Virginia Department of Health and the City of Richmond Bureau of Health. She directed a correspondence course for mothers during her time with the Department of Health. <br /><br />Faris left public health nursing in 1932 to accept the position of executive secretary for the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia (GNAV). Faris had been an active member of the association for some time and was elected treasurer in 1928. She established the first office for the GNAV in her home at 3015 East Broad Street in Richmond, Virginia. Her husband had his office on the first floor while the association’s was located on the second. As the GNAV grew, Faris supervised the relocation of the office, first to the Grace American Building at Fourth and Grace Streets in 1937; then to the Central National Bank Building on Broad Street between Second and Third Streets in 1944. <br /><br />Faris quickly became well-known to the members of the GNAV as she traveled to local meetings. She was the founding editor for <em>Bits of News</em>, the official publication for the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia for many years. The publication was subsequently titled <em>Virginia Nurse Quarterly</em> from 1955-1975, <em>The Virginia Nurse</em>, 1976-1992 and continues as the <em>Virginia Nurses Today</em>. Faris developed “procedure books” for the state and district officers and continued to serve as treasurer of the association through 1950. She also served as treasurer of the Virginia League of Nursing, (now the Virginia League for Nursing) during many of those years. <br /><br />Faris established the continuing role of the executive officer in the legislative efforts of the Virginia Nurses Association. Her greatest achievement in this area occurred in 1936 when a member of the Virginia Senate, state senator Dr. Julian Woodson introduced a bill to replace the five-member Virginia State Board of Nurse Examiners with a board composed of three physicians and three nurses. Working closely with the president and secretary-treasurer of the Board and the president of the association, Faris organized nurses across the state to lobby in opposition to the “Woodson Bill.” The nurses of Virginia prevailed and the bill was defeated. In the mid-1940s, Faris worked closely with the other nursing organizations to make changes in the law that would allow the Virginia Board of Nursing to approve educational programs preparing practical nurses and to establish a method of licensing the graduates of those programs. <br /><br />Faris participated in the planning and celebration of the 50th anniversary of the organization of the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia. Although she personally opposed integration of association Faris ultimately served as a member of a joint committee of the American Nurses Association and the National Organization of Colored Graduate Nurse “to consider Negro nurses for membership in the ANA.” The National Organization for Colored Graduate Nurses ceased to exist in January of 1951 and membership in the American Nurses Association was extended to all registered nurses. On January 1, 1953, following Faris’s retirement, the Virginia Association became the 45th state nurses association to integrate its membership. <br /><br />While Faris was working at the Department of Health she was asked by Dr. Ennion G. Williams, Virginia Commissioner of Health, to design a pin to honor an exceptional public health nurse Nancy Vance. Dr. Williams presented the gold, pearl studded five-point star pin to Vance in 1925 for her services to improve the health of Virginia’s children. In 1948, after the pin had been given to the association to recognize outstanding nurses in the Commonwealth, Faris received the award. Although she had wanted to retire as early as 1947, Faris agreed to stay on year by year through 1950. She was honored at a testimonial dinner at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia, in January 1951. A large number of colleagues and friends from across Virginia were present. Under Faris’s leadership, the association membership reached more that 3,600 members. She set a high standard for the nine leaders who would hold the position during the second half of the 20th century.
Highlights
<ul>
<li>First Executive Secretary of the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia (now the Virginia Nurses Association)</li>
<li>Founding Editor of <em>Bits of News,</em> the official publication of the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia</li>
<li>First nurse member of the Board of Directors of Retreat Hospital</li>
<li>Designed the Nancy Vance Pin</li>
</ul>
Education
<ul>
<li><span>Retreat for the Sick Training School, Richmond, Virginia, 1907</span></li>
</ul>
Nursing CV
<ul>
<li><span>Private Duty Nurse</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Richmond Bureau of Health, Richmond, Virginia, Staff Nurse for 4 years, Chief Nurse for 3 years</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia (now Virginia Nurses Association), Executive Secretary, 1932-1951; </span>Treasurer, 1928-1951; Editor, <em>Bits of News</em>, 1933-1951</li>
<li><span>American Nurses Association Member, Joint Committee with the National Organization of Colored Graduate Nurses "to consider Negro Membership in the ANA"</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>ANA Southern Division, Treasurer, 1946-1956</span></li>
</ul>
Death Place
Richmond, Virginia
Introduction
<p>Jessie Faris, the first and longest serving administrator for the Virginia Nurses Association, established a role for the executive officer in legislative affairs. She was the founding editor of the association’s first official publication, the <em>Bits of News</em>. Working closely with other nurses and professional organizations, Faris helped push through legislative changes allowing the Virginia Board of Nursing to approve educational programs and grant licenses to practical nurses.</p>
<p class="quote">"Jessie's life purpose was based on the assumption that responsibilities are ours to fulfill, privileges ours to pass on. Her service to the community and the various humanitarian causes to which she gave so unselfishly can never be estimated."<br /><br /><span class="quote-attrib">Mabel E. Montgomery, Virginia H. Campbell, and Mae L. Hamner "Tribute to Jessie Wetzel Faris" <em>Virginia Nurse Quarterly</em>, Summer, 1960</span></p>
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Jessie Wetzel Clark Faris
Class of 2009
-
https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/files/original/a10f1e74fa22d40625c52371ca082f70.jpg
d8375bcd604fe0e0a20456f1a2b5ebb2
Person - VNHOF Nurse
An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. - for Virginia Nursing Hall of Fame
Birth Date
1919-12-03
Birthplace
Richmond, Virginia
Death Date
2000-04-05
Biographical Text
Dorsye E. Russell attended Richmond Professional Institute (then a Division of the College of William and Mary and now Virginia Commonwealth University) for two years before entering the School of Nursing at the Medical College of Virginia where she earned a bachelor’s degree in 1943. For the next seven years she remained at the MCV and St. Philip Hospitals in various nursing administrative positions. She was also an assistant professor in the School of Nursing. During those years she completed the requirement and was awarded a Master of Arts degree in Nursing Administration at Teachers College, Columbia University. <br /><br />Russell left the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals in 1953 to become the director of nurses at King’s Daughter’s Hospital. In addition to her responsibilities in that position, she was a strong supporter of the practical nursing educational programs in the area and facilitated the use of the hospital for clinical experiences of the students in the program. In 1959, Russell left Staunton to move to Lynchburg where she was director of nursing and nursing education for Lynchburg General Hospital. Russell went to Patrick Henry Community College in 1970 where she was the first program head for the associate degree in nursing program. She used her many and varied contacts across Virginia to develop a strong program. <br /><br />In 1965, Governor Albertus S. Harrison, Jr., appointed Russell to the first of two five-year terms to the Virginia Board of Nursing. An active member of the board, she served as vice president and played a unique role in the activities leading to the repeal and reenactment of the Virginia Nurse Practice Act of 1970. She also contributed substantially to the repeal and reenactment of the Regulations of the Board of Nursing and to the agreements that lead to the change in Virginia law to provide for the certification of nurses in advanced practice. Russell represented the Virginia Nurses Association on the Governor’s Committee on Nursing from 1966 to 1969. This Committee was appointed by Governor Mills Godwin to develop an “accurate view of the challenges and needs of the nursing profession in Virginia.” <br /><br />In 1972, Russell returned to nursing administration as vice president for nursing at Mary Washington Hospital. In that role, she facilitated the clinical experience for students from the Germanna Community College associate degree program as well as the Fredericksburg Area School of Practical Nursing. Although she officially retired from the position of vice president for nursing at Mary Washington Hospital in 1984, Russell continued employment there into 1989. She served in a liaison position with the chief executive officer to oversee the completion and publication of the book <em>Ninety Years of Caring</em>. She also assisted with the coordination of clinical experience. In her retirement, Russell continued to serve on the Advisory Committee for the associate degree in nursing program at Germanna Community College. She also supported the need for nurses to pursue higher education and urged the dean at the Virginia Commonwealth University to bring classes to Fredericksburg to allow registered nurses to pursue the baccalaureate degree. She used her telephone to maintain her knowledge of the progress of nursing in Virginia and the scanner she had in her apartment to keep up with what was going on in Fredericksburg. <br /><br />Throughout her career Russell was active in a variety of professional activities and participated as a committee member, officer, consultant, and advisor. She served as president of the Virginia Nurses Association, the Virginia League for Nursing and the Virginia Organization of Nurse Executives. In 1985, the Virginia Nurses Association appointed Russell to serve with Patricia Cushnie from the Virginia Organization of Nurse Executives and Marcia Dake from the Virginia Association of Colleges of Nursing to develop bylaws for a group of nursing organizations that had been meeting informally for a number of years. The new group, The Alliance of Nursing Organizations and Specialty Groups of Virginia, formally organized under the proposed bylaws to foster communication and collaboration among Virginia’s nursing organizations. <br /><br />Shortly after her graduation from nursing school, Russell began her lifelong commitment to the Medical College of Virginia Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University. She served as a member of both the Board of Trustees and the Nursing Division Board of Directors. She also served on numerous committees including the Nursing Alumni Centennial Steering Committee. In 1984, Russell was named the Outstanding Nurse Alumnus by the Nursing Division. She established an endowment at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing known as the Dorsye Russell Leadership Fund in 1996 to support those students developing professional leadership skills. Russell was a sustained distinguished member of the Sadie Health Cabaniss Society of the Virginia Commonwealth School of Nursing. <br /><br />Russell has been recognized by the Virginia Nurses Association for her many contributions to nursing. In 1982 she received the Nancy Vance Pin Award, the most prestigious award given by the organization. As part of its Centennial Celebration in 2000, the Virginia Nurses named Russell as one of fifty-one Pioneer Nurses in the Commonwealth. Dorsye Russell made significant contributions to the development of nursing in Virginia during the second half of the 20th century. She knew and respected many of the leaders who preceded her and built on the foundation they established. A consensus builder, skillful negotiator, and great compromiser, Russell served as a role model and mentor for many of Virginia’s nurse leaders who followed her.
Highlights
<ul>
<li>President of the Virginia League for Nursing, the Virginia Nurses Association and the Virginia Organization of Nurse Executives</li>
<li>Chief nursing administrator in three Virginia hospitals</li>
<li>First Program Head for the associate degree in nursing program at Patrick Henry Community College</li>
<li>Member and Vice President of the Virginia Board of Nursing</li>
<li>Established an endowed Nursing Leadership Fund at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing</li>
</ul>
Education
<ul>
<li><span>Thomas Jefferson High School, Richmond, Virginia</span></li>
<li>Richmond Professional Institute of the College of William and Mary, (now Virginia Commonwealth University) Richmond, Virginia, 1938-1940<span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Medical College of Virginia, (now Virginia Commonwealth University) Richmond, Virginia, Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 1943</span><span><br /></span></li>
<li><span>Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York, Master of Arts in Nursing Administration, 1951</span></li>
</ul>
Nursing CV
<ul>
<li><span>Medical College of Virginia and St. Philip Hospitals, Richmond, Virginia, Night Supervisor, Assistant Director of Nursing Service, Assistant Professor of Nursing, 1946-1953</span></li>
<li>King’s Daughter’s Hospital, (now Augusta Regional Medical Center) Staunton, Virginia, Director of Nurses, 1954-1959</li>
<li>Lynchburg General Hospital, (now Centra Lynchburg General Hospital) Lynchburg, Virginia, Director of Nursing and Nursing Education, 1959-1969</li>
<li>Patrick Henry Community Hospital, Martinsville, Virginia, Assistant Professor and Program Head, 1970-1972</li>
<li>Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg, Virginia, Vice President for Nursing, 1972-1984; Liaison to the Chief Executive Officer to oversee publication of book <em>Ninety Years of Caring </em>and to coordinate clinical learning experiences for students from Germanna Community College, 1984-1989.</li>
</ul>
Death Place
Fredericksburg, Virginia
Introduction
<p>Dorsye Russell established her reputation as a strong leader early in her 50-year professional career. She was the only Virginia nurse to have served as president of the Virginia Nurses Association, the Virginia League for Nursing, and the Virginia Organization of Nurse Executives. One of the early masters-prepared nurse educators, Russell shaped nursing programs in Fredericksburg, Lynchburg, Martinsville, and Staunton.</p>
<p class="quote">"Dorsye E. Russell shared her professional knowledge, her compassion for others, and her love for life with many individuals. My hope is that I have shared some of what Dorsye taught me about nursing and life." <br /><br /><span class="quote-attrib">Priscilla Job Shuler, RN, PhD, Nursing Hall of Fame Nomination, 2009</span></p>
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Title
A name given to the resource
Dorsye Elizabeth Russell
Class of 2009