The June Class of 1972

Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Class of 1972

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!

Share Your Story

More from the Class of 1972

The June Class of 1972
The June Class of 1972
The August Class of 1972
The August 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! 

TheSchool 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  

Class of 1972 Celebration Presentations

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Class of 1972 Celebration Kick Off

The UW–Madison School of Nursing Class of 1972 celebrated its 50th reunion in Fall 2022. During these celebration events, the class planning committee and class members wished to engage with current students and learn about the current academic practices and programs at the School of Nursing.

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Transition to Practice in Public Health – Dr. Susan Zahner

As most nurses recall from lived experience, transitioning to the first practice position can be challenging for new graduate nurses. Nurse residency programs are a successful strategy to assist new graduates to adapt in their first year of practice.  Such residency programs, while common in hospitals, are rare in public health settings. We are changing that with a new program called “New to Public Heath Residency Program” implemented in the Fall of 2021. In this presentation, I will provide background about the public health nurse workforce and talk about the how the new public health residency program addresses the needs of new public health nurses in Wisconsin and beyond.

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“I went into the woods”: Native Health at the Nexus of Community & Environment – Dr. Angela Fernandez

Relationship to Nature via cultural, spiritual and subsistence practices is commonly viewed as integral to risk prevention and health promotion by many Indigenous Peoples across the globe in both rural and urban spaces. There is increasing research to support the physical and mental health benefits of nature contact—a term used in health sciences to define the interface between humans and other biotic (e.g., plants and animals) and abiotic (e.g., water and sunlight) elements. Nature contact has been conceptualized by Indigenous scholars and community members as human interconnectedness within Nature (HIWN)—a term which denotes humans as part of Nature and in equitable, reciprocal kinship with all other non-human life forms. This presentation will consider research as a tool with which to understand how Indigenous peoples view and implement cultural practices that involve HIWN in risk prevention and health promotion interventions.

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Class of 1972 Student Panel

Class members engaged with current students and learned about the current academic practices and programs at the School of Nursing. Students also shared their personal journeys into nursing and gave their insights into the current nursing school culture.

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The History, Current State and Future of CARE – Dr. Barbara Bowers and Prof. Barb King

The Center for Aging Research and Education (CARE) supports discoveries that improve aging and build the skills and capacity of those who care for older adults. Since 2011, CARE at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing has collaborated with community partners to apply nursing expertise and scholarship to the issues facing older adults and those who care for them. Join Founding Director and Professor Emeritus Barb Bowers, PhD, RN, FAAN with Executive Director Dr. Barb King, PhD, RN, APRN-BC, FAAN as they discuss the creation, functions, and future of CARE.

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The US Overdose Crisis: Public Health Response and Ongoing Challenges –Dr. Rachel Gicquelais

Drug overdose deaths increased 6-fold nationally and 7-fold in Wisconsin from 2000 to 2021, killing more than 100,000 people nationally in 2021. In this presentation, I will discuss the epidemiology of the US overdose crisis and key characteristics of the current overdose crisis in Wisconsin. I will also provide an overview of several strategies to address the overdose crisis, including harm reduction and substance use disorder treatment.

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Class of 1972 Academic Affairs Presentation – Katie Bleier

Katie Bleier, assistant dean for Academic Affairs, shared an overview of how clinical placements are made, how the curriculum is determined, what student support resources are available, and what students are receiving for career preparation.

Contact Us

Jordan Langer

Position title: Advancement Manager

Email: jlanger3@wisc.edu

Phone: 608-262-1179

Address:
5173 Signe Skott Cooper Hall