Fall 2023 | Deans Who Dared
They came from big cities and small towns. They served during wars, economic collapse, sweeping cultural and political change, and a global pandemic. They fought against oppression and the belief that nurses were second-class health care professionals who didn’t need higher education. They shared a vision of transforming health care through nursing education, research, and practice. They were all uniquely different leaders. They were all women. They are the eight deans and directors who serve or have served the School of Nursing throughout its first one hundred years.
Get the latest in research, education, and practice from the School of Nursing, meet the people leading the way, and celebrate the impact of alumni across the state and around the world. ForwardNursing brings you meaningful stories about and for people working to promote health and advance healthcare.
How Do Badger Nurses Change Lives?
Dean's Letter | Fall 2023
It has been gratifying to spend the past year reflecting on the School’s legacy of excellence as we prepare to celebrate our centennial throughout 2024. In doing so, I have noted many times that our history is filled with individuals who innovated, broke barriers, advocated, and led change to meet the health needs of their time.
Bittersweet Gratitude
Advancement Manager Jordan Langer shares a story of personal heartbreak made lighter by nursing alumna Emma Kowieski.
Celebrating 50 Years of Alumnihood
This fall, the School of Nursing honored the Class of 1973 as they celebrated the 50th anniversary from graduation. The 1973 graduating class experienced tremendous change during their nursing education — both on campus and throughout the world. While preparing for their various nursing careers, the Vietnam War came to an end, women’s rights and Native American movements swept the country, and Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs served up the Battle of the Sexes match.
More Fall 2023
Zahner Awarded Prestigious Carol Graham Lifetime Achievement Award by WPHA
Susan Zahner, DrPH, RN, FAAN, associate dean for faculty affairs, professor, and Vilas Distinguished Achievement professor at the UW–Madison School of Nursing, has been recognized by the Wisconsin Public Health Association (WPHA) as the 2023 Carol Graham Lifetime Achievement award winner.
Nursing Trailblazer Barbara L. Nichols Selected as Inaugural Recipient of the UW–Madison School of Nursing Canary Savage Girardeau Award for Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion
Nichols is known for her visionary leadership, advocacy, and political expertise throughout her 60-plus-year career.
2023 NAO Award Winners
The University of Wisconsin–Madison Nurses Alumni Organization (UW NAO) proudly announces the 2023 NAO Award Winners. Mary Gulbrandsen, MS’74, RN, PNP, has been selected as the 2023 Distinguished Achievement Award recipient, and Tolu Oyesanya ’11, MS’12, PhD’16, has earned the 2023 Outstanding Badger Nurse Award.
New to Public Health Residency Program Bolsters Public Health Workforce
Despite Julianna Manske’s years as a nurse educator and acute care outpatient oncology nurse, she was overwhelmed in 2016 when she became a frontline public health nurse in suburban Milwaukee. The local health department, Manske, MSN, RN, OCN, quickly learned, is where residents turn for answers to all manner of health-related questions, ranging from how to avoid the stomach bug circulating the schools to how to handle a dog bite to the risks of long-term radon exposure.
ForwardNursing Issues (pdf)
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