Congratulations on the 50th anniversary of graduating from the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing. It’s truly incredible to think about how fast 50 years have gone by! Whether you’re still practicing, teaching, volunteering, or conducting research, you all deserve to take a bow and congratulate yourselves for making a difference in the world.
Your class experienced tremendous change during your nursing education—both on campus and throughout the world. You witnessed Vietnam War protests, the Watergate scandal dominated the news, and Title IX was passed, all while you prepare to begin your nursing career.
Thank you for helping to celebrate this milestone. Event recordings are below.
Celebrate Your Story!
Share your memories and photos with us by completing the class survey. We’d love to know what you’ve been up to!
More from the Class of 1972


Note: The School of Nursing is looking for a photo of the 1972 January Class photo. Anyone with more information on the January graduation class, please contact Jordan Langer.
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Remarks from the Celebration Committee
The seven of us came together in partnership with the School of Nursing to plan a celebration for our class. We were part of an incredible class that broke boundaries and prepared for a career focused on improving health and systems for all. We hope you will join us during our celebration programs in September!
The School of Nursing Class of 1972 Celebration Committee: Dorinda Cartier, Veronica “Roni” Engle, Karen Ransom Harris, Nancy Heins-Glaser, Deborah Reitman Judge, Bonny Cox Kulick, Linda Kautza Procci, Kathy Capelle Schneider.
Class of 1972 List
- Margaret Langbecker Amend
- Cynthia Amundsen
- Edith Anderson
- Dorothea Moller Appel
- Lynn Swacina Arvikar
- Mary Roloff Arvold
- Catherine Sattler Barr
- Nancy Morey Bauer
- Paula Charles Benson
- Bonnie Hamilton Broderick
- Colleen Cantlon
- Dorinda Cartier
- Joyce Aufderhaar Christensen
- Cheryle Schaaf Christiansen
- Sally Congdon Christiansen
- Marjorie Manley Christman
- Dianne Christopherson
- Cynthia Katzer Cole
- James Comins
- Ann Knippel Cordes
- Sharon Line Cory
- Mary Jenk Cotter
- Sharon Carter Cotter
- Kathryn Grieb Daly
- Wendy Kexel Damm
- Carolyn Tengbom Daniel
- Carol Wulfing Dehate
- Nancy Derrig
- Diana Wills Dorfman
- Jane Longacre Driscoll
- Colleen Russell Duffie
- Jane Eberlein-Green
- Judith Gualandi Eckblad
- Jill Rappe Emmons
- Veronica Engle
- Marianne Nispeling Flammang
- Bruce Frederick
- Kathleen Major Frisbie
- Dorothy Fitzsimons Gadzik
- LeaRae Galarowicz
- Kathleen Brown Gehl
- Susan Geidel-Anderson
- Catherine Schibly Giles
- Linda Vander Heyden Gobis
- Pamela Miller Gotch
- Kalee Gould
- Sara Kranick Grant
- Jane Gregorich
- Sharon Groschwitz
- Julie Grosnick
- Cheryl Ballweg Gunn
- Judith Rindfleisch Hahn
- Susan Kossel Hamm
- Kay Knight Hansen
- Beth Hillmer Harris
- Karen Ransom Harris
- Nancy Heins-Glaser
- Diane Side Helgeson
- Rena Hemlock
- Mary Donkle Henze
- Diane Holt Hoe
- Susan Horky
- Milo Huempfner
- Miriam Hull
- Kathy Kilps Jacobs
- Carol Stauder Janick
- Miriam Jato
- Deborah Reitman Judge
- Karen Dent Julian
- Linda Garity Kennedy
- Guru Khalsa
- June Kjome
- Kristi Statz Knight
- Donna Bobbe Knisely
- Catherine Heasley Knuteson
- Marie Koenings
- Donna Watry Kolanko
- Cheryl Koller
- Linda Byrne Kriz
- Dottie Hantak Krull
- Bonny Cox Kulick
- Fran Longley Landsness
- Mary Strauss Lee
- Katherine Hall Logan
- Jane Walley Maung
- Kathleen Maurer
- Kathryn McCollister
- Bette Pardowsky McGee
- Darlene Roesler McKenna
- Rosalyn Meinholz
- Patricia Moder Mertens
- Jane Gard Meyer
- Jacqueline Michaels
- Monica Morris
- Barbara Bina Morrison
- Bonnie Bodin Moskowitz
- Barbara Pinch Mosley
- Marilyn Gengler Mussallem
- Katherine Muth
- Nancy Noel
- Mary Splittberger Odders
- Mary Olen
- Becky Olson
- Joan Branjord Olson
- Karen Lee Ott
- Susan Strebel Pamperin
- Mary Wachtl Pappalardo
- Cynthia Parker-Neis
- Susan Buckley Peterson
- Nancy Gibson Poplin
- Ann Poser
- Mary Poehling Prahler
- Linda Kautza Procci
- Terry Tonkin Punswick
- Janie Purins
- Cheryl Quackenbush
- Virginia Schoephoerster Qualmann
- Beverlyn Reed
- Sharon Klokner Reich
- Susan Speltz Reichert
- Anna Brewer Rentmeester
- Stephanie Foley Rettig
- Patricia Galloway Rindy
- Patricia Kratcha Roder
- Cheryl Petak Rothering
- Barbara Fox Sauer
- Rosa Scalzo
- Kathleen Capelle Schneider
- Susan Hanisch Schoch
- Sue Thompson Schrenk
- Susan Stengert Schultz
- Gail Hilton Schwartz
- Teresa Sellinger
- Janice Thorpe Sgambelluri
- Sharon Kerns Sher
- Julie Gulick Shinn
- Patricia Berlin Shoemaker
- Patricia Siedschlag
- Elaine Snyder
- Christine Stearns
- Karen Sterr
- Dianne Stevens
- Beth Geppert Swanson
- Karen Teske-Osborne
- Bonnie Reichert Thanig
- Angela Amato Tramburg
- Jo Ann Trilling
- Patricia Trunk
- Beverly LaFrenier Tuckwell
- Barbara Barager Tweedale
- Patricia Klarkowski Van Deurzen
- Margaret Van Gemert
- Patricia Vande Hei
- Norine Malinowski Vedeges
- Gail Lamers Waddell
- Patricia Wadzinski
- Kathleen Rooney Warner
- Patricia Zierke Wasserstrass
- Betty Westfall
- Mary Jo Willis
- Diane Swiggum Wilson
- Catherine Wixom
- Susan Norcross Wojciechowski
- Peggy Wagner Wros
- Susan Lemanski Yadro
- Linda Chatsey Zillman
- Marilyn Zirbel
Remarks from the Class of 1972 to the Class of 2022
Congratulations, Class of 2022! You’ve made it through four years of rigorous preparation for a nursing career that has been a central part of our lives for the past 50 years. You’ve accomplished this amid a global pandemic, demands for social justice, and a period of extreme political polarization.
Our years at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1969-1972, were also times of fear, political turmoil, and social unrest and violence in the streets. We remember bearing witness to the Civil Rights Movement, assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy, and experiencing the National Guard and police in riot gear on campus. We also can’t forget the bombing of Sterling Hall. These issues added significant stress during our nursing education as they have added to yours. However, navigating these issues also provided opportunities for growth and personal development. Nursing’s holistic philosophy of body, mind, and spirit demands personal exploration of these domains. The societal issues we’ve navigated during our respective nursing educational experience provided a unique context for this self-reflection.
We, the Class of 1972, are confident that you will carry this personal exploration and philosophy forward into your nursing careers. You will be better human beings and compassionate nurses for having endured these tumultuous times and embraced these existential issues during your nursing education.
We have compiled a list of short words of wisdom we’ve gained over 50 years:
- Nurses are change agents.
- Stand by your actions when you are confident in your knowledge base and experience.
- Never be afraid to ask for assistance when you need it.
- Listen to those around you who have sound insight and perspective. They can help you modify your approach to create a better result or outcome.
- Develop collegial relationships with all levels of care providers—from nursing assistants to physicians. Everyone has a part to play in providing comprehensive care to patients, and, generally, the RN is the glue that holds it all together!
- Encourage active participation in decision making by providing the education that patients need to weigh the pros/cons of treatment options. Things are rarely black or white and there is seldom only one option to achieve a goal.
- When physicians have exhausted treatments to offer a patient, nurses are still able to give individualized care and emotional support.
- Two words to eliminate from your vocabulary when working: NEVER and ALWAYS.
- Be flexible, change is a constant.
- Be a lifelong learner. The science of medicine/nursing/pharmaceuticals is constantly growing. You can’t know everything, but you can always go back to the literature.
- Participate in professional organizations. The networking and support opportunities that they provide are invaluable.
- Mentor the next generation of nurses; you have wisdom to share.
You have the tools and abilities to accomplish your dreams. Go forth and sort the wheat from the chaff. We wish you all the best as you graduate and hope that you can look back 50 years from now and be as proud of your alma mater and the preparation you received as we are.
-Members of the UW–Madison School of Nursing Class of 1972: Veronica Engle, Karen Ransom Harris, Nancy Heins-Glaser, Deborah Reitman Judge, and Linda Kautza Procci
In Memoriam
Margery Just Click
Susan Haidinyak Cowan
Donna Cornelison Davies
Roberta Schwarze Denton
Gisela Ellerkamp-Harris
Susan Sigvardt Finnane
Christine Churchville Hutchison
Marilyn Smith Marquardt
Cheryl Wanschneider Moeller
Jacqueline Koos Platz
Susan Hanisch Schoch
Jane Breitenbach Stenske
Patricia Zierke Wasserstrass
Katherine Pfiffner Williams
Sharon Zahradka
Giving Opportunities
We are asking for your financial support to continue innovative education through two 1972 class legacy gifts. The Global Health Nursing Fund, and the Center for Aging Research and Education (CARE) are areas we have designated for Class of 1972 gifts.
The Global Health Nursing Fund supports student expenses for interprofessional international and local health projects. This fund continues the historic emphasis to expose students to multicultural and underserved populations. You would probably recall the impact of our clinical experiences with migrant farm workers, Native American tribes, residents in inner city and rural areas, people experiencing homelessness, and persons with serious mental illness. We want future Badger Nurses to have similar experiences.
Give to the Global Health Nursing Fund
We are excited to support CARE through giving towards named School of Nursing auditorium seats and plaques. CARE promotes healthy aging and well-being of Wisconsin caregivers, older adults, and communities. We can name an entire row of seats for the 1972 Class Legacy ($10,000.00 combined individual contributions of any amount). Individual seats are also available for $1,000.00 each.
*Note that all 1972 Class Legacy gifts will also be applied to the SoN Badger Nurses Change Lives Centennial Campaign goal.
If you have any questions or need assistance with making your gift, please contact Isabel Andrews: isabel.andrews@supportuw.org or 608-263-6007.
Badger Nurses Change Lives
Badger Nurses Change Lives celebrates 100 years of Badger Nurses in Wisconsin and the UW-Madison School of Nursing's 100th anniversary. The centennial campaign challenges us to support the future of nursing education in our state for the health of all of us.