1
25
5
-
https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/files/original/5291a339ccc1971ca079f9c12fc83066.jpg
238815b33a8566313a1a017b97165419
Person - VNHOF Nurse
An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. - for Virginia Nursing Hall of Fame
Highlights
<ul>
<li>Noted educator and administrator</li>
<li>Dean of the School of Nursing at both the Medical College of Virginia School of Nursing (now Virginia Commonwealth University) and Vanderbilt University</li>
<li>President of the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia (now the Virginia Nurses Association)</li>
<li>Member of the Board of Directors of the National League of Nursing Education</li>
</ul>
Birth Date
1894-06-19
Birthplace
Georgiana, Alabama
Death Date
1963-02-15
Death Place
Winter Park, Florida
Introduction
<p>Frances Helen Zeigler Tunnell, a strong proponent for baccalaureate education for nurses, laid the foundation for the development of a BS program at the Medical College of Virginia School of Nursing and the expansion of collegiate nursing program at Vanderbilt University. Tunnell advocated for the separation of the education of nurses from service to the hospital. As President of the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia she led the effort to defeat a bill that would have changed the composition of the Virginia State Board of Nurse Examiners from an all nurses to one comprised of three physicians and three nurses.</p>
<p class="quote">"I want to say a word about Miss Zeigler. Those of us who were there were very proud. As Mrs. Faris said, she was very dignified, as we all know she can be. I have never seen her anything else, but she was extremely dignified, and talked easily and courteously to those men - and she got over what she wanted to say in an effective manner. Miss Zeigler was the principle speaker for the nurses and I wish all of you could have heard her."</p>
<span class="quote-attrib">Ethel M. Smith, Secretary-Treasurer and Inspector of Schools of Nursing, Virginia State Board of Nurse Examiners, "Recent Problems Met in Administering the Nurse Practice Act in Virginia" <em>Bits of News</em>, July, 1936.</span>
Education
<ul>
<li>Virginia Intermont College, 1913</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing, Diploma, 1921</li>
<li>Teachers College, Columbia University, G. S. Degree in Administration of Schools of Nursing, 1927</li>
</ul>
Nursing CV
<ul>
<li>Virginia High School, Bristol, Virginia 1914-1918</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins Hospital, Operating Room Assistant Supervisor, 1921-1922</li>
<li>Emory University Hospital, Operating Room Supervisor, 1922-1923</li>
<li>Piedmont Hospital School of Nursing, Georgia, Superintendent, 1923-1926</li>
<li>Yale University Hospital, Head Nurse</li>
<li>University of Cincinnati School of Nursing and Health, Assistant Director and Educational Director, 1927-1929</li>
<li>Medical College of Virginia (MCV) (now Virginia Commonwealth University) 1929-1939: Dean, MCV School of Nursing; Director, St. Philip School of Nursing, MCV Hospitals, Director of Nursing Services</li>
<li>Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Dean, 1939-1949</li>
</ul>
Biographical Text
<p>Frances Helen Zeigler Tunnell, best known in Virginia as Helen Zeigler, was born in Georgiana, Alabama. She attended Virginia Intermont College where she graduated in 1913. Tunnell taught for four years at Virginia High School in Bristol, Virginia before moving to Baltimore to attend the Johns Hopkins Hospital School of Nursing in the fall of 1918. After receiving her diploma in 1921 she spent a year as operating room assistant supervisor at the Johns Hopkins Hospital. She held nursing position with the Piedmont Hospital School of Nursing in Atlanta, Georgia and at the Yale University Hospital.</p>
<p>Tunnell continued her education at Teachers College, Columbia University where she earned her bachelor's degree in 1927. She then began more than twenty years of distinguished leadership in three schools of nursing beginning with two years at the University of Cincinnati School of Nursing. In 1929, she moved to Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University) where she was dean for the MCV and St. Philip Schools of Nursing and director of nursing services for the MCV Hospitals. In this position, Tunnell encouraged the growth and expansion of the educational programs. She recruited to the MCV School of Nursing faculty Lula Wolf Hassenplug, an innovator and strong educator who went on to found the School of Nursing at the University of California at Los Angeles. Tunnel advocated for a baccalaureate program at MCV and continued to do so after she moved to Vanderbilt University as evidenced in her correspondence with William T. Sanger, President of MCV. She also pushed for the separation of the education of nurses from service to the hospital. During her tenure at MCV she collected materials related to the early history of the School of Nursing that survive today in the archives of the Tompkins-McCaw Library at Virginia Commonwealth University.</p>
<p>An active nursing scholar Tunnell contributed a number of articles on a variety of subjects to the nursing literature. During the Depression she served as an advisor in Virginia on professional projects for the Work Progress Administration (WPA). She published an article entitled, "Relief Work," in the <em>American Journal of Nursing</em> in 1934 where Tunnell described how the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals employed individuals adversely affected by the Depression.</p>
<p>Tunnell devoted much of her time and effort to professional organizations. She was an active member of the American Nurses Association and its constituent organizations in the states where she resided. She served as president of the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia (now the Virginia Nurses Association) for a term in 1934-1936. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the National League of Nursing Education and a member of her Alumni Association and other professional groups. She is most widely known in the Virginia nursing history for her role in helping to defeat the Woodson Bill that was introduced in the Virginia General Assembly in 1936. The proposed bill called for the replacement of the existing Virginia Board of Examiners of Nurses, (the Board) consisting of five registered nurses with one comprised of three physicians and three nurses. Working with the executive secretary of the GNAV, the president and secretary-treasurer of the Board, Tunnell played a key role in organizing the nurses of Virginia to oppose the legislation. A review of her verbatim testimony to the Legislative Committee attests to her leadership which helped to defeat a bill that would have had a negative effect on nursing in the Commonwealth.</p>
<p>When the bill was initially introduced in the General Assembly Tunnell met with the Board and made some suggestions for change in the regulations. After the Board made the changes, she testified to the willingness of the Board to respond to the need for change. She also spoke on the radio during the time, appealing to the public to support the existing Board. Tunnell's influence and experience with the Woodson Bill aroused the Virginia Nurses Association to the importance of vigilance during legislative sessions and the need for a strong committee on legislation. From that date forward, the Association has conducted an active legislation program. Tunnell left MCV in 1939 and began her ten years as dean at the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. She continued her drive for baccalaureate education for nursing, preventive medicine, and public health nursing. While at Vanderbilt, she represented nursing on the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) and chaired a subcommittee that studied the needs of nursing. Recommendations from this subcommittee stressed the importance of higher education for nurses, but no action was taken by the SREB. Tunnell's efforts to promote baccalaureate and higher education and to separate nursing education from service left her mark on nursing beyond her lifetime.</p>
<p>In 2000, Tunnell was named one of Virginia's Pioneer Nurses by the Virginia Nurses Association as part of its centennial celebration. The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing identified her at one of 120 Visionary Leaders among faculty and alumni during the celebration of its 120th Anniversary in 2013.</p>
<p>Tunnell left Vanderbilt in 1949 and married Spence Tunnell, Jr. They lived in Florida where she died in 1963. Through her will, she endowed a scholarship for a student in the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing who demonstrates merit and need.</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
Frances Helen Zeigler Tunnell
Class of 2013
-
https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/files/original/b45cc3cf5e9573e8eaa3fc8b6d30ffc4.jpg
8fdc1cec7e6f0d8e7a6be734708eceea
Person - VNHOF Nurse
An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. - for Virginia Nursing Hall of Fame
Highlights
<ul>
<li>Served as Director of Nursing and of the School of Nursing at Winchester Memorial Hospital for three decades</li>
<li>Served with distinction during World War II earning the Bronze Star with the United States Army Nurse Corps</li>
<li>Appointed to the Virginia State Board of Nurse Examiners (now the Virginia Board of Nursing) and served as President of the Board</li>
</ul>
Birth Date
1899-06-19
Birthplace
San Francisco, California
Death Date
1992-07-27
Death Place
Boyce, Virginia
Introduction
<p>Throughout her long and distinguished career at Winchester Memorial Hospital, Mary Jane McCone consistently exhibited a "passion for nursing and a high standard of professional care." She was instrumental in reopening the School of Nursing at Winchester in 1937 following several years of closure during the Great Depression. As a farsighted nurse educator, she recognized the need to move the School of Nursing into an academic setting and worked to phase out the hospital school when Shenandoah University initiated its associate degree in nursing program in the 1960s.</p>
<p class="quote">"Mary Jane McCone symbolized the professional nurse, from her starched white uniforms to her service on the State Board of Nursing Examiners ... No nurse ever worked for her, or with her, who did not express their love and devotion to her. She was the nurse's nurse."<span class="quote-attrib"><br /><br />Michael W. Foreman, <em>History of Winchester Memorial Hospital Training School for Nurses, 1903-1954</em>, 1990</span></p>
Education
<ul>
<li>Early schooling in California; graduated from Miss Burke's Finishing School in San Francisco, 1918</li>
<li>Winchester Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, 1930</li>
<li>Johns Hopkins Hospital, post graduate study of Operating Room Technique and Management, 1930</li>
</ul>
Nursing CV
<ul>
<li>Johns Hopkins Hospital, Surgical Suite Management and Surgical Techniques, 1930-1931</li>
<li>San Francisco Hospital, Operating Room Supervisor, 1931-1935</li>
<li>Winchester Memorial Hospital: Superintendent (Director of Nursing), 1935-1937; Director of Nursing and the School of Nursing, 1937-1942</li>
<li>United States Army Nurse Corps, 1942-1946</li>
<li>Winchester Memorial Hospital: Director of Nursing, 1946-1968; Director of the School of Nursing 1946-1964</li>
</ul>
Biographical Text
<p>Mary Jane McCone was born in San Francisco, California in 1899 to James F. McCone, a physician and his wife Ellen Lennan McCone. In a 1983 interview in the <em>Winchester Star</em>, McCone related that "her father had a nurse's uniform made for her at the age of three." This early introduction to nursing may be the basis of her distinguished career, both at Winchester Memorial Hospital and during her military service in World War II. McCone attended school in San Francisco and completed her studies at Miss Burke's Finishing School in 1918. Following her graduation McCone traveled and engaged in activities enjoyed by upper middle-class young ladies of the 1920s. It is known that she visited in the home of Dr. Hunter McGuire, II a physician on the staff of Winchester Memorial Hospital, in Virginia. This visit may have led her to choose to become a nurse and to attend the School of Nursing there. She enrolled in the Winchester Memorial Hospital School of Nursing in 1927 and graduated three years later. She continued her education in Baltimore where she completed post graduate work in operating room technique and management. She used the skills and knowledge acquired there in her early employment at Johns Hopkins Hospital and San Francisco Hospital from 1931 to 1935.</p>
<p>McCone returned to Winchester in 1935 at the request of Dr. McGuire to become the superintendent (later director) of nursing for Winchester Memorial Hospital. Her varied duties included circulating in the operating room and administering anesthesia. The economic conditions of the Great Depression forced the closing School of Nursing at Winchester in 1934. Three years later in 1937 McCone worked with the hospital administration to reopen the school and the next class was admitted in 1938. McCone was named director of the school in addition to her position as director of nursing for the hospital.</p>
<p>On 2 July 1942, McCone entered the United States Army Nurse Corps and was assigned to the 8th Evacuation Hospital, a unit associated with personnel form the University of Virginia. After several months in the United States, McCone arrived in Casablanca, Morocco. This was the beginning of three years of campaigns that took her from North Africa to Germany with the Seventh Army. She moved with her hospital 72 times within nine months of continuous fighting providing support for the campaigns at Salerno, Anzio, Rome, the invasion of Southern France, and the southern front of the Battle of the Bulge. In the spring of 1945 she traveled with the Seventh Army from Munich, through southern Germany and the Benner Pass to North Italy. May of 1945 found her in Munich, then she went through Germany back into Northern Italy. During her military career McCone rose to the rank of major, earned three bronze battle stars and a Bronze Star for Merit Achievement for her development of a transport box to carry supplies as the army field hospital moved from one site to another.</p>
<p>McCone returned to civilian life and to her positions at the Winchester Memorial Hospital in 1946. Like other nurse educators McCone had to address the issues facing nursing education programs in the decade following World War II. In this timeframe many university affiliated hospital-based programs were retired in favor of baccalaureate programs embedded within the university. At the same time the profession began to develop a number of two-year nursing programs with most based at junior and community colleges. Anticipating some of the changes in nursing education McCone and others from Winchester Hospital administration began exploring with Shenandoah College (now Shenandoah University) administrators, the establishment of such a program at the college. After careful study, the hospital's School of Nursing was closed when the last students graduated in 1964. Shenandoah College opened its associate degree program prior to that in order to assure a continuous supply of nurses in the community. McCone continued her support of the program. She also encouraged the development of the Dowell J. Howard School of Practical Nursing, begun as a cooperative program with the county school systems and Winchester Memorial Hospital.</p>
<p>In 1949, McCone was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to fill an unexpired term as a member of the Virginia State Board of Nurse Examiners (now the Virginia Board of Nursing.) The following year she was reappointed for a full five-year period ending in 1955, during which she served as president of the Board for three years.</p>
<p>McCone continued as director of nursing at Winchester Memorial until her retirement in 1968 after thirty six years of distinguished service. She was recognized for her "unrelenting standards of excellence in nursing practice and nursing service" both during her military service and at Winchester. The Graduate Nurses Association (now the Virginia Nurses Association) presented McCone with its most distinguished award, the Nancy Vance Pin in 1952. Shenandoah College established an award to honor McCone in 1980 to recognize her passion for nursing and high standards of professional care. The Mary Jane McCone Award for Practice Excellence has been presented continuously since that time. In 1990, Rear Admiral O. Marie Henry, DNS, RN, FAAN, established a Chief Nurse Award that continues to be presented by the United States Public Health Service. The first Chief Nurse Award was presented to Mary Jane McCone.</p>
<p>McCone was active in professional nursing organizations throughout her career. In retirement she worked to support Fellowship in Serving Humanity Charities (F.I.S.H), an organization with 1000 groups worldwide dedicated to helping others. She also enjoyed gardening. McCone died in 1992 in Boyce, Virginia.</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
Mary Jane McCone
Class of 2013
-
https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/files/original/e20a0e0318466f49dc0afc135a940968.jpg
fdf1df8b9ea2c3fb6dbd147dacfaa40b
Person - VNHOF Nurse
An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. - for Virginia Nursing Hall of Fame
Highlights
<ul>
<li>Progressed from instructor with the Norfolk Public Schools and Leigh Memorial Hospital School of Practical Nursing to Supervisor of Health Occupations with the Norfolk Public Schools</li>
<li>Led in developing three practical nursing programs in Norfolk; later directed the merger of the three into the Central School of Practical Nursing at the Norfolk Technical Vocational Center</li>
<li>Authored the first medical-surgical nursing textbook for practical nursing students</li>
<li>Developed programs for certified laboratory assistants, nurse aides, refresher courses for registered nurses, evening classes to refresh and expand knowledge of licensed practical nurses and high school Health Occupations courses</li>
<li>Served as a member of the Virginia State Board of Nurse Examiners (now the Virginia Board of Nursing) for ten years.</li>
</ul>
Birth Date
1925-05-21
Birthplace
Oxford, North Carolina
Death Date
1983-04-25
Death Place
Norfolk, Virginia
Introduction
<p>Mildred Alfy Mason was a "master" teacher. Her greatest legacy is the many nursing and vocational educators she influenced during her career. Author of a seminal textbook for practical nursing students, Mason was also recognized for her expertise in curriculum development. She held numerous leadership positions with nursing and vocational education organizations and finished her career by leading the Trade and Industrial Health Occupations Education program at Old Dominion University.</p>
<p class="quote">"I was a new teacher in a practical nursing program and so impressed by Dr. Mason's unselfishness to share her knowledge to assist new and even seasoned teachers to be more effective in the classroom. She was a mentor to any teacher who wanted to learn effective strategies."<br /><br /><span class="quote-attrib">Kathleen A. Jones, RN, BSN, MEd., Letter of support for Mason Hall of Fame Nomination 2013</span></p>
Education
<ul>
<li>Public Schools, Clarksville, Virginia</li>
<li>Johnston-Willis Hospital School of Nursing, 1945</li>
<li>Margaret Hague Hospital, Jersey City, New Jersey, post graduate study in obstetric nursing, 1946-1947</li>
<li>Duke University, BS degree in Nursing Education, 1955</li>
<li>University of Virginia, Master's degree in Education, 1965</li>
<li>Tel Aviv University, Israel, Certificate, Comparison of Health Care in Israel and USA, 1973</li>
<li>Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Doctorate in Education, 1975</li>
</ul>
Nursing CV
<ul>
<li>Private Duty Nurse, Richmond, Virginia 1945-1946</li>
<li>Jersey City Medical Center, staff nurse, 1947-1948</li>
<li>Norfolk Public Schools, 1947-1978: Norfolk Public Schools and Leigh Memorial Hospital School of Practical Nursing: Clinical Instructor, 1947-1950; Nursing Arts Instructor, 1950-1955; Education Director, 1955-1961; Supervisor, Practical Nurse Education, 1961-1967; Supervisor, Health Occupations, 1967-1978; Supervisor, Health Occupations and Trade and Industrial Education, 1978</li>
<li>Old Dominion University, Darden School of Education: Associate Professor and Program Area Leader, Occupational Education, 1978-1983</li>
</ul>
Biographical Text
<p>Mildred Alfy Mason was born in Oxford, North Carolina in 1935. She was raised in her family's home in Clarksville, Virginia where she attended public school. In 1943 she entered Johnston Willis School of Nursing in Richmond and enrolled in the United States Cadet Nurse Corps, a federal government program designed to accelerate and expand the number of trained nurses during World War II. Mason spoke frequently of her pride in being one of the more than 124,000 who entered the profession from the Cadet Corps between 1943 and 1946. After graduation from Johnston-Willis, Mason worked as a private duty nurse in Richmond, then took a post graduate course in obstetric nursing at Margaret Hague Hospital in Jersey City, New Jersey.</p>
<p>In 1947, Mason began the defining work of her career when she joined the Norfolk Public Schools as a faculty member in the first school of practical nursing in Virginia. This program was a cooperative effort of the Norfolk Public Schools and Leigh Memorial Hospital. She progressed from instructor to educational director. When a second program under the aegis of the Norfolk Public Schools and Norfolk General Hospital opened in 1961, Mason became supervisor of practical nurse education within the Department of Adult and Vocational Education. In that role she developed classes for nurse aides under the federal Manpower Development Training Act, health occupations classes for students at Maury High School, a program for clinical laboratory assistants, and a third practical nursing program at the Norfolk Technical Vocational Center for high school students. She also established class offerings for licensed practical nurses and refresher courses for registered nurses wishing to return to practice. In 1972, under Mason's direction, the three practical nursing programs were merged to form the Central School of Practical Nursing at the Norfolk Technical Vocational Center that offered classes for both secondary and postsecondary students. Mason recognized the importance of national accreditation for schools and, with her mentor, Mildred Bradshaw, Director of Nursing at Leigh Memorial Hospital, she assisted in obtaining accreditation from the National Association for Practical Nurse Education and Service soon after the school opened. When the National League for Nursing (NLN) established an accreditation program for practical nursing schools, Mason provided the leadership and direction for the Norfolk schools to achieve full accreditation.</p>
<p>While serving as a nurse educator with the Norfolk Public Schools, Mason continued her own education by earning a BS degree in Nursing Education at Duke University, a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Virginia and her doctorate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She also found time to be active in the Virginia Nurses Association and she served as secretary for the Virginia League for Nursing. She was Chair of the Council of Practical Nursing Programs of the National League for Nursing, and while in this office she served as a member of the Board of Directors of the NLN. In addition, Mason was an active member of the American Vocational Association, the Virginia Vocational Association, and was a charter member and president of the Virginia Health Occupations Educators Association. She was a member of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International and the Pilot Clubs International through the Pilot Club of Norfolk.</p>
<p>In 1978, Mason joined the faculty of the Darden School of Education at Old Dominion University as an associate professor in Occupational Education. In the almost five years that Mason held this position, she taught numerous classes to strengthen the knowledge and skills of teachers in vocational education in the eastern part of Virginia. She also used her knowledge of curriculum development to lead a group of practical nursing teachers to develop the <em>Curriculum Guide for Practical Nursing Education in Virginia</em> in 1980.</p>
<p>Mason served on the Virginia State Board of Nurse Examiners (now the Virginia Board of Nursing) from 1959 to 1969. She was president of the Board from 1961 to 1968. Mason authored the first textbook on medical surgical nursing for practical nursing students in 1959 and with coauthors, the publication continued through six editions. Mason was honored by her colleagues in the Norfolk Public Schools in 1977 for her 30 years of leadership and service. She was also commended by the American Vocational Association for her leadership in health occupation education.</p>
<p>Mason's greatest legacy rests with her impact on people, particularly the young and dynamic women who had the good fortune to teach with her. A substantial number of these went on to lead other schools of practical nursing in several states. Some carried the knowledge and skills of teaching acquired under Mason's direction into all phases and levels of nursing education. For those who view Mason as both a friend and a mentor, her greatest gift was her confidence in them. She used this strength to encourage them to be "the best they could be." More than one sought additional education, took on new assignments, and achieved goals because of her urging and support.</p>
<p>Mason died from cancer in the spring of 1983 leaving her imprint on nursing and adult and vocational education across the United States. Friends and family honored Mason's memory and contributions to nursing education with the establishment of the Mildred A. Mason Memorial Scholarship Foundation in 1983. Between 1985 and 2012, seventy-nine scholarship awards were made totaling $43,800. In 2012, the Foundation Board of Directors transferred the funds to the Medical College of Virginia Foundation as an endowed scholarship to be known as the Mildred A. Mason Memorial Scholarship, thus preserving this honor for the future. Scholarship awards from this endowment will be made to students enrolled in the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing.</p>
<p>In 2000 the Virginia Nurses Association honor Mason posthumously by naming her a Virginia Pioneer Nurse.</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
Mildred Alfy Mason
Class of 2013
-
https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/files/original/887add8a4abcb8151855c6840bb32e10.jpg
0231a8379e17c6da95a082eaca853fc1
Person - VNHOF Nurse
An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. - for Virginia Nursing Hall of Fame
Highlights
<ul>
<li>Nationally known nursing educator</li>
<li>Led the National League for Nursing Department of Test Construction</li>
<li>Served as Director of the Honors College at Hampton University</li>
</ul>
Birth Date
1921-07-01
Birthplace
New York, New York
Death Date
2003-08-07
Death Place
Hampton, Virginia
Introduction
<p>Eleanor Acham Lynch, a national leader in nursing education, served as Director of the Department of Test Construction with the National League for Nursing for 20 years. She worked with nursing faculty members from across the United States to develop questions for use in state board test pool examinations for RN and LPN licensure. In Virginia, Lynch made her mark at Hampton University where she served as associate professor of nursing, associate director of the Center for Teaching Excellence, and director of the Honors College.</p>
<p class="quote">"Known for her meticulous concern for detail and documentation, Mrs. Lynch had a flair for the dramatic and a sense of humor that sometimes caught faculty members and workshop participants off guard. Alert for teachable moments, she would use humor to soften needed corrections that she would not let pass lest misinformation be conveyed to students. Questions were posed to assure that the participants in her classes and workshops were keeping up with her: "Clear as crystal or clear as mud?" before she proceeded to the next major topic, was a favorite inquiry."<span class="quote-attrib"><br /><br />Dr. Patricia E. Sloan, R.N., Professor Emeritus, Hampton University, Lynch Hall of Fame nomination, 2013.</span></p>
Education
<ul>
<li>Public Schools, New York City</li>
<li>Hunter College, BA degree in Chemistry, 1941</li>
<li>St. Philip School of Nursing, Diploma, 1944</li>
<li>Teachers College, Columbia University, MA degree in Curriculum Development</li>
</ul>
Nursing CV
<ul>
<li>Pediatric Nurse, Cook County Hospital, Chicago, Illinois; St. Philip Hospital, Richmond, Virginia</li>
<li>Public Health Nurse, New York City Department of Health, New York</li>
<li>Clinical Instructor, St. Philip School of Nursing, Richmond, Virginia, Dillard University, New Orleans, Louisiana, and St. John's Episcopal Hospital School of Nursing, Brooklyn, New York.</li>
<li>National League for Nursing, 1956-1978 with the Department of Test Construction</li>
<li>Hampton University, 1978-1993</li>
</ul>
Biographical Text
<p>Eleanor Acham Lynch, a native of New York City, was educated in the city's public school before enrolling at Hunter College at the age of 15. She graduated in February 1941 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in chemistry, pre-med, and biology enrichment. In February 1942, she began her half century of work in nursing when she enrolled at the St. Philip Hospital School of Nursing in Richmond, Virginia. At that time, the St. Philip School was under the aegis of the Medical College of Virginia (MCV), but operated separately from the MCV School of Nursing to educate African American students in nursing. She received her diploma in the fall of 1944, but began her teaching career as an acting assistant instructor in nursing arts during her senior year. After a few months as a staff nurse at St. Philip, she began her graduate studies at Teachers College, Columbia University. Lynch spent the summer of 1945 as a pediatric nurse at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, IL. She returned to St. Philip in the fall of 1945 to become a clinical instructor and to be supervisor of pediatric nursing in the St. Philip Hospital. After two years she left Richmond to accept a position as clinical instructor at Dillard University. Lynch returned to New York and worked briefly as a public health nurse in the New York City Department of Health. By the fall of 1950 she resumed her teaching career by accepting a position as nursing arts instructor at St. John's Episcopal Hospital School of Nursing in Brooklyn.</p>
<p>By 1956 Lynch had married, completed her master's degree in curriculum development from Teachers College, and accepted a position at the National League for Nursing in the Department of Test Construction. She became Director of the department in 1975. During her tenure at NLM Lynch provided leadership in a number of areas but most significantly in the development of test questions for entrance, achievement, and licensure examinations used throughout the United Sates for both RNs and LPNs. Lynch conducted numerous workshops and gave many presentations while at the NLN. Lynch also authored several publications and served as a consultant on subjects in her area of expertise.</p>
<p>Lynch made another career move in 1978 when she left the NLN to join the faculty in the School of Nursing at Hampton University. There she held the positions of associate professor research associate, and chair of the Department of Undergraduate Nursing Education before moving on to become director of the Honors College. She subsequently became associate director of the Center for Teaching Excellence. Lynch retired in 1993 and became professor emerita of the School of Nursing at Hampton University.</p>
<p>Throughout her career, Lynch was active in professional organizations including the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Virginia Nurses Association and the Virginia League for Nursing. A member of Sigma Theta Tau, Lynch was also recognized with more than a dozen awards. She was named an Eminent Scholar by Norfolk State University, a Lindback Distinguished Teacher at Hampton University and a Visionary Leader by the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing. VCU also honored Lynch with the Outstanding Nurse Alumni Award from the Nursing Division of the Medical College of Virginia Alumni Association of Virginia Commonwealth University.</p>
<p>Lynch continued to reside in Hampton and was active in her community and with her family and friends until her death in 2003.</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
Eleanor Sybil Acham Lynch
Class of 2013
-
https://gallery.library.vcu.edu/files/original/bf60831fa2b1f38dced52fbc71449416.jpg
a88a41342a5bf6e9f7559308e791b202
Person - VNHOF Nurse
An individual, biographical data, birth and death, etc. - for Virginia Nursing Hall of Fame
Highlights
<ul>
<li>First African American woman to achieve professorial rank at the Medical College of Virginia (now Virginia Commonwealth University)</li>
<li>First African American to be named as an Assistant Director of Nursing Service for the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals</li>
<li>Led the Career Ladder Program for MCV Hospitals and created opportunities for VCU employees to obtain additional education and improved status in the workforce</li>
<li>Led the St. Philip Alumni Association and played a significant role in establishing the St. Philip School of Nursing Endowment Scholarship Fund</li>
<li>Authored <em>A Historical Bulletin of the Saint Philip School of Nursing and Alumnae</em></li>
</ul>
Birth Date
1912-09-30
Birthplace
Florence, South Carolina
Death Date
1992-01-16
Death Place
Newark, New Jersey
Introduction
<p>Mayme Lacy Harris left an indelible mark on nursing and education at the St. Philip Hospital, the St. Philip School of Nursing and the MCV Hospitals where she served as teacher and administrator. An inspiration to a generation of St. Philip School of Nursing students Harris valued her own opportunity to participate in the expansion of the role of the nurse in the operation of the hospital. She is remembered with great affection and respect by her former students, colleagues, and fellow alumnae members.</p>
<p class="quote">"An indefatigable person of boundless energy [Mayme Harris] has dedicated a lifetime to advancing her theories of the epitome of nursing as a profession. As a practicing and supervising nurse [she] has had few peers, and as a teacher and administrator her primary concern was for the welfare of her students and colleagues."<span class="quote-attrib"><br /><br />Annie Jordan, President, St. Philip Alumnae Association, 1976, on the occasion of the establishment of the Mayme B. Wilson Lacy Award.</span></p>
Education
<ul>
<li>Public Schools in Florence, South Carolina</li>
<li>St. Philip School of Nursing, Diploma, 1940</li>
<li>Certificate in Teaching and Supervision, School of Nursing, University of Toronto, 1943</li>
<li>Teachers College, Columbia University: BS in Administration and Guidance in Nursing and Nursing Education, 1947; MA in Curriculum and Teaching in Nursing, 1953</li>
<li>Studied at Virginia Union University and Yale University</li>
</ul>
Nursing CV
<ul>
<li>St. Philip Hospital, Head Nurse 1948</li>
<li>St. Philip School of Nursing 1943-1952: Assistant Instructor of Nursing Arts, 1943-47; Instructor of Nursing Arts, 1947-1953; Assistant Professor 1953-1960</li>
<li>Medical College of Virginia Hospitals: Assistant Director of Nursing Service 1953-1972; Director, Career Ladder Program 1972-1978</li>
</ul>
Biographical Text
<p>A native of Florence, SC, Mayme Harris spent her formative years in the south before moving with her family to New Jersey and New York. She initially engaged in factory work but found it tiring and dissatisfying. She made the decision to become a nurse and came to Richmond in 1937 to enroll in the St. Philip School of Nursing, a separately operated school for African American students administrated by the Medical College of Virginia (MCV). After receiving her nursing diploma Harris returned to school part-time at Virginia Union University and ultimately at the University of Toronto where she had a Rockefeller fellowship and completed a certificate in teaching and supervision in 1943.</p>
<p>Harris began her professional work at the St. Philip Hospital shortly after her graduation and continued her association in between breaks for additional education. She was hired as an assistant instructor for nursing arts, a position she held for four years from 1943 to 1947, while she was simultaneously pursuing her baccalaureate degree at Teachers College, Columbia University. To support herself she worked as a general duty nurse at the New York Post-Graduate Hospital.</p>
<p>After receiving her degree in administration and guidance in nursing, Harris was promoted to instructor of nursing arts for the St. Philip School of Nursing. In this role she influenced many and inspired a generation of St. Philip nursing students. In 1949 she became the first African American woman to achieve professorial rank in the School of Nursing when she became an assistant professor. By 1953 she had worked her way up the administrative ladder within the St. Philip Hospital and was the first African American nurse to be named as an assistant director of nursing service for MCV Hospitals. She held her administrative role within the MCV Hospitals, an appointment she viewed as the highlight of her career, from 1953 until 1972. In this capacity she participated in the expansion of the role of nursing in the operation of the hospitals.</p>
<p>In 1972, Harris became Director of the Career Ladder Program for the MCV Hospitals and provided leadership in building opportunities for employees of Virginia Commonwealth University to acquire additional education and improve their status in the workforce. Harris had a pivotal role with the MCV Hospitals School of Practical Nursing. This program gave hospital employees the opportunity to upgrade their positions and helped to alleviate the hospital's shortage of LPNs. The students received one-half of their salary and an hourly wage during the 12 month program.</p>
<p>Harris found time to be active in a number of professional, community, and social organizations and held leadership roles in many. In addition, she was active in her church, the Hood Temple AME Zion Church in Richmond. She was a member of the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses until it went out of existence in the early 1950s. She then joined the American Nurses Association and was active in the Virginia Nurses Association (VNA) and District 5 of the VNA. Harris also held memberships in the National League for Nursing, Pi Lambda Theta Sorority, the Young Women's Christian Association, and the American Red Cross Nursing Service. Harris' great niece, Lena Townsend, recalled that her aunt found time for activities outside of nursing including sewing and using the skills acquired when she studied upholstery.</p>
<p>Harris was an active member of the St. Philip Alumnae Association. She promoted the association and encouraged others to participate in alumnae affairs over the years. She was the first elected president of the association and played a significant role in establishing the St. Philip School of Nursing Alumnae Endowment Scholarship Fund. In 2013, four nursing students received scholarships from this Endowment. Harris may best be remembered as the association's historian. She painstakingly compiled a history of the school and the alumnae association in 1978 that has served as the standard published work on the history of the St. Philip School of Nursing.</p>
<p>Harris married George Lacy, a lawyer, in 1957. Her great niece described the marriage as one of long distance because Lacy continued to work and live in Washington, DC while Harris lived in St. Philip Hall, the nurses' residence in Richmond. When the St. Philip School of Nursing closed, Harris moved to an apartment where she was joined by her husband until his death from a stroke some years later.</p>
<p>Harris retired in 1978. Three years later she married Jeffers Harris, a Methodist minister. His career took them to a number of cities and they retired in Cleveland, Ohio, where Jeffers Harris died in 1991. Mayme Harris relocated to East Orange, New Jersey, where she died a year later at the St. Michael's Hospital in Newark.</p>
<p>Harris was honored by Zeta Phi Beta with its Woman of the Year Award in 1972. In 1976, shortly before her retirement, the St. Philip Alumnae Association honored Harris by establishing the Mayme B. Wilson Lacy Award. This award continues to be presented twice a year to a graduating nursing student, "irrespective of race, creed, color, sex or national origin, who is highly committed to nursing as a profession, demonstrated the ability to consistently give good nursing care to all classes of patients, works well with the health care team and shows promise of supporting professional organizations." At a ceremony when the first award was presented to Linda Price in 1976, Annie Jordan, President of the St. Philip Alumnae Association said "We are proud to bestow this honor upon Mrs. Lacy ... and hail her as our leader, our model and source of inspiration, our sister and our friend, a modern-day Florence Nightingale and a legend in her own time."</p>
<p>The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing honored Harris in 2013 as one of 120 Visionary Leaders.</p>
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Mayme Belle Wilson Lacy Harris
Class of 2013