The University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing, chartered as the University of Alabama School of Nursing in 1950. The Alabama Legislature authorized a collegiate school of nursing at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1949 and provided funds for its support. With establishment of the School of Nursing on the Tuscaloosa campus in 1950, colligate nursing was inaugurated to include: a traditional baccalaureate, an RN to BSN for registered nurses, and a centralized program of teaching social and biological sciences for diploma student in seven hospital program. In 1967, the school moved from the Tuscaloosa campus to Birmingham and became a component of the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Today, the school continues to build on the vision laid in its pioneering and entrepreneurial spirit. The school’s graduate program, began in 1955 and is currently ranked in the top ten percent, twenty-sixth among nursing schools nationwide. Multiple specialty options at the master’s-level include preparation for the role of nurse practitioner, nursing administration and informatics, nurse educator and clinical nurse specialist.

The school established the first doctoral program, the Doctor of Science in Nursing (DSN), in the state and Southern region in 1975. With the approval of the PhD in Nursing Program in 1999, the DSN degree program was phased out in August 2005 as planning began for the new Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Program. In anticipation of the need for nurses prepared at the highest level of clinical practice, the DNP degree was approved and began in 2008 through collaboration with UAB’s School of Health Professions, the University of Alabama in Huntsville College of Nursing and The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing in Tuscaloosa.

School of Nursing Timeline

1950's

1950- On June 5, Florence A. Hixson sends a telegram to the University of Alabama President John Gallalee, accepting the position as first dean of the School of Nursing. Hixson had more than 20 years of experience in nursing administration and education and earned her doctorate at the Columbia University.

1950- In September, the school begins with three programs: a traditional baccalaureate, an RN to BSN for registered nurses, and a centralized program of teaching social and biological sciences for diploma student in seven hospital programs in the state.

1951- In January, the school moved into the first School of Nursing Building, a renovated residence hall adjacent to the Student Health Services.

1951- Lyndon McCarroll joins Dean Hixson, becoming the school’s second faculty member.

1952- The School of Nursing is temporarily accredited for five years by the National Nursing Accrediting Service.

1952- The UAB Board of Trustees presents an honorary doctorate to Linna Denny for her efforts in convincing the Alabama Legislature to establish a baccalaureate nursing program. Denny was the first Red Cross nurse in the Alabama (1915) and served as president of the Alabama State Nurses’ Association (ASNA) in the 1940’s. She was the first secretary of the Board of Nurses Examiners and Registration (now the Board of Nursing).

1953- The ASNA donates a picture of Linna Denny to hang in the UASON building. The portrait later was stolen from the library at UAB. A replacement copy is housed on the first floor of the current School of Nursing Building at UAB.

1954- Nina Sue Beck, Beverly Causey, and Nora Ruth Freeman become the first graduates of the School's basic baccalaureate program.

1954- The School moves into Little Hall, its second UA home.

1955- The master's program begins.

1956- Laurene Gilmore, Elizabeth Cleino and Dorothy Hart become the first three master's graduates. The school is one of six schools selected by the Southern Regional Education Board to start master’s nursing programs. It offers majors in nursing education administration and teaching maternal-child health nursing. Programs in psychiatric and TB nursing also are added for hospital students.

1957-The school receives full national accreditation.

1958-Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the only honor society in nursing, is installed at the school. It is the nation’s 12th chapter.

1958-James Bryan becomes the school’s first male graduate.

1960's
1963-Marie L. O’Koren receives the first Bixler scholarship for study toward a doctoral degree. She receives an EdD.

1964-The basic baccalaureate program and the baccalaureate program for registered nurses are combined into one program.

1964- Dean Hixson receives external funding to help integrate the teaching of mental-health concepts into the entire curriculum.

1966-The Extension Center at Birmingham is converted into a four-year College of General Studies to provide the academic background for the professional schools within the Medical Center.

1965-Sarah Louise Fisher is admitted to the School of Nursing’s baccalaureate program and in 1969 will become the school’s first African-American graduate.

1967-The UASON moves from the Tuscaloosa campus to the Birmingham campus, acting on a recommendation from the feasibility study that led to the establishment of the school. The school operates out of several buildings in Birmingham.

1968-In July, ground is broken for the new School of Nursing Building.

1968-Registerd nurse students are allowed to wear the pin and cap of the SON. Before, only basic students were allowed to wear the pin and cap.

1969-Mary Edna Williams is appointed the first director of continuing education, and the UASON begins offering workshops, seminars, and institutes for nurses around the state. Phyllis Loucks will succeed Williams in the early 1970s.

1969- The Birmingham-based University of Alabama Medical Center and the College of General Studies, which to this point have functioned as part of the University of Alabama, become an autonomous university, known initially as the University of Alabama in Birmingham and later as the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).

1969-Delois Skipwith Guy joins the SON as its first Africian-American faculty member in 1969.

1970's

1970-In June, Dr. Florence A. Hixson retires as dean. Dr. Marie O’Koren is chosen as the school’s second dean.

1970s-During this decade the era of nursing specialization dawns at the school. Master’s-level curricula additions of majors and specialty areas of concentration bring specialty studies that include pediatric nursing, adult health nursing, maternal/infant nursing, community health nursing, rehabilitation nursing, cardiovascular nursing, psychiatric nursing, developmental disabilities nursing, and nursing service administration.

1971-The school moves into its current building, which includes space for a Learning Resource Center (LRC) offering state-of-the-art instructional support for nursing students. Fred Horns establishes the LRC and Kathleen Mikan becomes its first nurse director. A graduate tower will be added to the new building in the late 1970s.

1972-Nurse practitioner education takes root at the School, beginning with education for the pediatric nurse practitioner that leads to a certificate rather than a degree and is administered through the school’s Department of Continuing Education. Later nurse practitioner programs would be at the master’s level.

1974-The school receives a five-year grant from the Kellogg Foundation to establish a major in nursing service administration. The schools of Business and Allied Health also are involved in the project, forming the first interdisciplinary major on campus.

1975-A major revision of the faculty bylaws and a reorganization of the faculty are adopted. The reorganization involves moving from a system with seven departmental chairs to one with four undergraduate level chairs and one graduate chair. Also, an administrative council is formed to help improve internal communications at the school.

1975-The Doctor of Science in Nursing (DSN) program is approved in August and begins in the fall. Dr. Jean Kelley, assistant dean for graduate studies, leads preparation of the proposal. It is the 13th doctoral program in the country and the first one in the Southeast. As a professional doctorate, it is geared toward increasing the number of doctorally prepared nursing faculty, administrators, and consultants.

1976-The Outreach Project for Master’s Nursing Education begins. It is designed to help prepare faculty to teach in associate-degree and baccalaureate nursing programs. The entire master’s curriculum is offered at sites in Decatur, Gadsden, Montgomery, and Mobile. Faculty travel to the sites in a large motor home and conduct weekly classes, seminars, and individual student conferences. Local nurse preceptors supervise the advance clinical practicums. Students completed the course of study in two years without having to travel to Birmingham. More than 400 students are admitted to the program (with more than 200 graduating). Many of the non-graduates go on to enroll in one of the three new master’s programs in the state, which grew out of the Outreach Program.

1976-A visiting lectureship program for DSN students is established and draws some of the nation’s outstanding nursing theorists, including Marjorie Dunlap, Martha Rogers, Gwen MacDonald, Jacqueline Fawcett, Loretta Ford, and Ada Jacox. It will be named the Jean Kelley Lectureship in 1991.

1979- The first class of DSN students graduates. It includes Dr. Kathleen Andreoli, who goes on to become one of the Distinguished Alumni of the School of Nursing.

1979-The Center for Nursing Research is established. It is the first such center in the state and one of the first in the nation.

1980's

1980-The UASON Alumni Association is developed in February. It goes on to become a major force in development, fundraising, and faculty/student recognition.

1980-A release time quarter (RTQ) plan is developed, allowing faculty to be released from heavy teaching loads to engage in practice, research, and other scholarly activities.

1985-Hixson Hall, a nursing residence hall, is dedicated in honor of Dr. Florence A. Hixson, the school’s first dean.

1986-A summers-only doctoral program is created, in addition to the regular schedule, to accommodate nursing faculty around the Southeast who wish to enroll.

1987-Dr. Marie O’Koren retires as the school’s second dean. Dr. Rachel Z. Booth is named as her successor.

1988-The School of Nursing adopts its first five-year strategic plan.

1988-The school receives a Flexible Education for Registered Nurses Grant, which takes BSN education to nurses in rural areas. The $398,538 grant focuses on Walker and St. Clair counties.

1989-The RN/BSN/MSN program begins.

1989-A health policy major is added to the DSN program. The other majors are in administration, education, consultation, and nurse practitioner.

1989-Dr. Jean Kelley retires as the school’s associate dean for graduate studies. She was instrumental in starting the DSN program and the Outreach Program. She also helped expand the master’s program to include nurse practitioners and clinical nurse specialists.

1989- Dr. Marguerite Kinney becomes the first nursing faculty member to serve on the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at UAB. The IRB is the body that reviews proposals involving human subjects.

1990's

1991-The school’s first Vision Plan is adopted and is to extend for a 10-year period. The overall goal is to move the school into the top 10 schools in the country. The plan is revised in 1998 to extend to 2005.

1992-Dr. Marguerite Kinney is appointed to the National Advisory Council for Nursing, National Institutes of Health, becoming the first UASON faculty member to serve in that role. Drs. Joyce Giger and Barbara Smith later would serve on the council.

1992-The Marie L. O’Koren Endowed Chair in Nursing, the UASON’s first endowed chair, is established. Dr. Barbara Smith, from The Ohio State University, is recruited to fill the chair. A second endowed chair is established in 1998 and is unfilled.

1992-A time capsule is placed in the basement of the UASON. A list of its contents is placed in a file in the dean’s office, with instructions for it to be opened in 2042.

1992-Vignette is started to replace the annual alumni newsletter that had been published by the dean’s office. A contest was held to name the new publication, with Dr. Sarah Johnston submitting the winning name.

1993-The UASON is designated the seventh World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Nursing in the United States. It is the 27th such center in the world.

1994-The west addition to the School of Nursing Building is completed. It includes a major renovation to the Learning Resource Center and the Center for Nursing Research.

1994-Graduates of the University Hospital diploma programs are invited to become members of the UASON Alumni Association.

1997-The School of Nursing and School of Health Profession at UAB jointly purchase the former RTI Building. It is renovated for an expansion of the Learning Resource Center.

1998-The UASON pin is redesigned to reflect a closer association with UAB. It features a green circle, with the addition of “UAB” at the bottom of the inner circle.

1999-A new PhD program in Nursing began, continuing in the school's pioneering program spirit.

2000's

2000 – To celebrate the School’s 50^th anniversary, School archivist Pat Cleveland and UAB curator Stefanie Rookis create an historical exhibit at the Alabama Museum of the Health Sciences at Lister Hill Library.  A new school history book by Anita Smith is introduced: The First Fifty Years: From Tuscaloosa to Birmingham. 

2001 – The crimson and white student uniform patch changes to UAB colors of green, gold and white, to align with UAB traditions.

2002 – Dr. Carol Z. Garrison, a 1976 MSN graduate of the School, becomes the first nurse to be President of UAB.

2005 – The DSN degree program is phased out as the PhD program grows and planning begins for the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program.

2005 – Dr. Rachel Z. Booth retires as dean. In November, Dr. Doreen C. Harper succeeds her to become the School’s fourth dean.  Dr. Harper has previously been serving as dean of the Graduate School of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts Worchester.

 2006 – Extensive School remodeling begins and will continue through 2009 to expand faculty offices, facilities and clinical simulation labs.

2006 – The Junior Board of Visitors is established with the help of the Board of Visitors as a vehicle for a young generation of community leaders to make a contribution to nursing and nursing education.

2006- Dr. Harper's tenure ushered in a new era of cooperation and partnerships.

2007 – The School is re-designated as Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization Collaborating Center for International Nursing for a four-year term of April 2007-11.

2007 – Dr. Linda Moneyham becomes the first professor to hold the Rachel Z. Booth Endowed Chair in Nursing, established in 1998.

2008 – The new Joint Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree (DNP) begins in collaboration with the UAB School of Health Professions, the University of Alabama in Huntsville College of Nursing, and the University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing in Tusclaoosa, with UAB’s School of Nursing designated as the coordinating School.

2008 – Dr. Patricia Patrician, a retired U.S. Army colonel, becomes the first professor to hold the Donna Brown Banton Endowed Professorship, established in 2005.

2008 – In partnership with the UAB Health System, the School initiates the Accelerated Master’s in Nursing Pathway for individuals who have earned a previous degree in a field other than nursing.

2008 – At its 50^th anniversary celebration, the Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau honors the chapter’s founding president, the late Dr. Margaret Millsap.

2008 – Hixson Hall, the UAB nursing residence hall built in 1962, is demolished.

2009 – The School is designated as a Veterans Affairs (VA) Nursing Academy by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Academic Affiliations.

2009 – The first class of Joint DNP students at UAB graduate and include Marie Bolivar-Cano, Summer Langston, Lisa Muirhead, and Cynthia Turner.