In 1951, state Sens. Louis Boschetto and Rudolph Anselmi sponsored the bill for a nursing school at the University of Wyoming, authorizing the first Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in the state.
During Homecoming Weekend, Friday through Saturday, Sept. 25-26, UW’s Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing is celebrating 75 years of nursing education, excellence and service.
Alumni, friends, faculty, staff, students and other members of the university and local communities are invited to join the School of Nursing for events related to its 75th anniversary and nursing alumni network reunion as well as UW Homecoming events, celebrating the school’s rich history and the generations of nurses who have made an impact in Wyoming and beyond.
The original Division of Nursing -- created under the Liberal Arts College -- included faculty members Dean Amelio Leino, instructors Gertrude Gould and Dorothy Tupper, and a class of 21 students. In 1954, 16 Division of Nursing graduates entered the workforce.
The division was named the College of Nursing in 1957 and became the School of Nursing in the College of Health Sciences in 1968. In 2003, the school was renamed again as the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing, in honor of faculty member Fay Whitney, with a generous gift from the Whitney family that also was used to help renovate the old biochemistry building into the Health Sciences Center.
The Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing offers three bachelor’s degree options, two master’s degree options and two Doctor of Nursing Practice degree options, with over 300 students enrolled across campus.
Events for the 75th anniversary and nursing alumni network reunion, listed by time and location, are:
Friday, Sept. 25
-- 11 a.m.: UW Alumni Lunch, Marian H. Rochelle Gateway Center.
-- 3-5 p.m.: School of Nursing Open House featuring the class of 1976, Room 364 of the College of Health Sciences.
-- 5:30-7:30 p.m.: Nursing alumni chapter meet and greet with a program at 6 p.m., Altitude Chophouse.
Saturday, Sept. 26
-- 8 a.m.: Cowboy Coffee, Ivinson Parking Garage.
-- 9 a.m.: UW Homecoming Parade, beginning at the intersection of Ninth and Bradley streets.
-- 11 a.m.: College of Health Sciences Homecoming tailgate, Indoor Practice Facility.
“The School of Nursing welcomes all members of the UW and Laramie communities to help celebrate 75 years of preparing nurses to serve Wyoming and beyond,” says Sherrill Smith, dean of the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing. “Join us as we honor the past, celebrate the present and look forward to the future of nursing at UW.”
To RSVP for the 75th anniversary School of Nursing events for the Fay W. Whitney School of Nursing and nursing alumni network reunion, see the registration page. All alumni, faculty and friends of the School of Nursing are welcome.
For more information on Homecoming and the School of Nursing’s 75th anniversary events and nursing alumni network reunion, visit www.pokes.org/homecoming.
The University of Wyoming has earned its Research Level 1 (R1) status from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, placing Wyoming's only four-year university with the top research universities in the United States.