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James Madison University Libraries Special Collections
880 Madison DriveCara Lundgren, Brianna Melchione, Selena St. Andre
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Staff have taken special care to identify and remove sensitive materials, particularly those relating to students' academic records, found within this collection. However, in rare instances, privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this collection. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information if found within this collection, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose. Researchers agree to alert Special Collections staff if potentially privacy protected information is found within this collection. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).
Collection is open for research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact research services staff at library-special@jmu.edu before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.
[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Nursing Department Records, 1951-2015, UA 0006, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.
Records were transferred by the JMU Nursing Department in November 2013 after Erica Lewis, then Assistant Professor in the Department of Nursing, found several boxes labeled "nursing history" in the basement in a storage room near her office. Another portion of the collection was transferred to Special Collections in December 2016 by Michele Dombrowski, Outreach Coordinator in the School of Nursing. In August 2018, an addition was transferred consisting of multiple Nursing Student Association scrapbooks, loose photos, and records.
One box of 2006-2010 student records from the 2013 transfer was returned to the transferring office due to FERPA laws. Several papers from the 2016 and 2018 transfer were not retained due to the presence of privacy protected information and medical records. These papers included student lists from fall 1992, fall 1993, 1994, and 1996-1998 that listed nursing juniors and seniors with their contact information and academic advisors. Papers found containing student education records were also not retained. In addition, duplicate copies of The Breeze and JMU News containing articles relating to the Department of Nursing in the 1980s and 1990s, already held by Special Collections, were discarded. Several class photos that were received in frames were unframed and the frames were discarded.
Prior to the development of a nursing program, Madison College offered pre-nursing courses to students who then transferred to other baccalaureate nursing programs. Interest in developing a full baccalaureate degree program began to increase in the 1960s, when a national trend of hospital nursing school closures came to Harrisonburg when the Rockingham Memorial Hospital (RMH) School of Nursing officially closed in 1970.
In May 1972, Madison College President, Dr. Ronald E. Carrier, submitted a proposal to the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV) to develop a nursing program at the College. It was not until 1979 that SCHEV granted permission to activate the program. Dr. Marcia Dake was appointed the fourth director, later dean, of Nursing Education in July 1979 and served in this role until 1988. The first students entered the program in the fall of 1980 and 21 of these students made up the first graduating class in spring 1982.
In fall 1982, the Department of Nursing received full accreditation from the National League for Nursing (NLN). After reorganization within the university, the department joined the new College of Health and Human Development in 1988, later merging with the College of Health and Behavioral Studies in 1994. Opting for new accreditation at the end of the 1990s, the department was granted full accreditation by the newly formed Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) in April 1999. In collaboration with Eastern Mennonite University's Nursing Program, the department was granted the Pi Mu at-large chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, International (STTI) Nursing Honor Society in 2000.
Expanding on the nursing program, the department implemented a new Master of Science degree with nurse practitioner and nurse educator concentrations in 2004, with the first cohort graduating in 2006. The department received full 10-year reaccreditation of all programs from the CCNE in 2009. In 2010, SCHEV granted approval for the development of a Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program at JMU. In 2013, the Department of Nursing implemented online learning for the DNP and RN-BSN programs. The department also operates a Chronic Illness minor open to all undergraduate students.
The JMU Nursing Department Records, 1951-2015, consists of 20 boxes documenting the creation and growth of nursing at JMU. This collection contains scrapbooks, documents, letters, studies, and photographs that helped spark the interest for a nursing program at Madison College in 1951. Proposals for new curriculums, order forms for uniforms, photographs of graduating classes and faculty, newspaper and magazine articles discussing student nurses, are all included within the collection. Other materials include faculty business minutes, grants for training and special projects, budget documents, correspondence between staff and students (letters and emails), nursing program policies, and information on pinning ceremonies held by the department. Please note that some folders are restricted and are marked in the inventory below. These folders are restricted due to individual student records.
The collection is arranged in the following five series. All series arranged chronologically except Series 2: Grants, and Series 3: Subject Files, which are arranged alphabetically.
Faculty, 1975-2014 (bulk 1975-2001) Grants, 1972-1981 Subject Files, 1951-2015 Photographs, 1980-2015 (bulk 1982-1999) Scrapbooks, 2000-2007Arranged chronologically.
Series 1: Faculty, 1975-2014, is arranged chronologically and consists primarily of administrative business and curriculum documents within the nursing department covering the years 1975-2001. The majority of information contained in these documents relates to faculty planning meeting minutes, in which they discuss prospectuses for new curriculum, meetings about classes, and course descriptions. There are also memos and correspondence that discuss the details of the nursing program, upcoming classes, and potential field trips as well as weekly updates to the nursing department staff. Also included are three items of interest relating to Dr. Marcia Dake, Dean of the Nursing Department. These include a DVD (pending reformatting) titled, Marcia Dake: A Transition, dealing with assisted living, notes from a 2005 interview with her, and memos and correspondence form her retirement as Department Head in 1988.
Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this file. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information found within this file, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose.
Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this file. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information found within this file, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose.
Arranged alphabetically.
Series 2: Grants, 1972-1981, includes grants that were awarded to the nursing program, including a capitation grant, a Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (DHEW) grant; a Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) grant; a special project grant; and various training grants. Grant application forms and approval forms are also included. The Capitation Grant, given to the program for the years 1980-1982, assisted with training nurses. In 1977, the Department of Nursing wrote a final progress report to DHEW asking them for approval to develop a baccalaureate nursing program at Madison College in order to replace the discontinued RMH program. The remaining grants in this series relate to the development of the nursing school and obtaining funding for the program. Along with grants and proposals, this series also includes miscellaneous letters of correspondence between Madison College faculty and employees of departments that distributed funding.
Arranged alphabetically.
Series 3: Subject Files, 1951-2015, is the largest in the collection. Materials include budgets, course descriptions, six-year plans, and contracts. Additionally, there are many documents concerning the Career Days event held yearly by the Nursing Department. These materials include letters written by JMU staff inviting different hospitals or nursing facilities to attend and speak with juniors and seniors about possible job opportunities and real-life nursing experience. Other materials include lists of graduating students and commencement bulletins for the years 1982-1986. Along with course syllabi, course requirements, and student policies, this series also contains College of Nursing Newsletters. Correspondence between faculty members, photographs (1990-1998), and articles concerning nursing students are included along with pinning ceremony documents.
Although there are photographs in this series, the majority of photographs can be found in Series 4: Photographs, 1980-2015 (bulk 1982-1999).
Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this file. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information found within this file, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose.
Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this file. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information found within this file, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose.
Privacy protected information may be revealed during use of this file. Researchers agree to make no notes or other recordation of privacy protected information found within this file, and further agree not to publish or disclose such information for any purpose.
Arranged chronologically, with one exception (box 18, folder 11) in compliance with original order received, and then alphabetically.
Series 4: Photographs, 1980-2015, consists almost entirely of photographs and negatives documenting professional, curricular, and social happenings in the Department of Nursing. In general, folders titled "Photos, xxxx" contain photos concerning the graduating class of the most recent date in the title. Some of the photos are labeled but the majority are not. Events of interest, which can be found throughout many folders with duplicates throughout, include: Class Pinning Ceremonies, some with Dr. Carrier and Dr. Dake, student and faculty meetings and conferences, students involved in practicum instruction, and Career Days. Individual class photos of every graduating nursing student can be found in years 1993-1996, 1998-2000. Some photos include Dr. Carrier, Dr. Linwood Rose, fifth president of JMU, and Virginia Senator Mark Warner. Other photos show campus construction of Phillips Hall and an unidentified building on East Campus. Box 17, folder 3 and box 18, folder 3 contain photos of Wilson Hall as seen from Bridgeforth Stadium. In addition, there are many photos throughout the series that have sticky notes with stars on the back. There is one photo album in this series that documents the first two years of the program from the faculty/staff perspective. There are many loose photos and labels throughout the album.
Arranged chronologically.
Series 5: Scrapbooks, 1982-2007, contains eight scrapbooks relating to the Nursing Department. The Class of 1982 scrapbook documents the first two years of the Department of Nursing from the student perspective, including photos of practicum, the 1982 Student Nurse Association of Virginia (SNAV) convention, meetings with Eastern Mennonite College (now Eastern Mennonite University) students, pinning, and commencement. The majority of scrapbooks highlight academic years from 2000-2007 through the Nursing Student Association (NSA), JMU's chapter of the National Student Nurses' Association, that promotes the professional and personal development of student nurses'. The NSA scrapbooks document service and social activities that the chapter participated in during the year. The Virginia Nursing Student Association holds scrapbook competitions for Virginia NSA chapters. Some activities documented in the scrapbooks include: Relay for Life, Senior Prom, recruitment, fundraising, and holidays.