Susan Hagedorn ‘77 Makes Commitment to Endow Professorship at Nursing School
New Foundation Board Member Susan Hagedorn recently pledged $1.5 million to create the Seedworks Nursing Professorship for Social Justice. The endowed professorship is the first for the nursing school and the only endowed professorship in a public nursing school in New England.
With her nursing degree from UMass Amherst, Hagedorn began her career in the Boston area. In 1983 she helped found the first comprehensive school-based health clinic at the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, a three-year intense collaboration that produced better access to quality health care providers and improved health of teenagers.
Over the years, Hagedorn has received advanced degrees and certifications, including a doctorate from the University of Colorado. She has been widely published and has contributed to the topics of nursing teaching, practice, theory, and policy initiatives. An associate professor at the University of Colorado, she also directs its Partnership in Prevention program. Her many accomplishments include being a pediatric and women’s health practitioner who serves at risk youth and women; practicing at residential treatment programs; operating a mentor program for at-risk middle school students; and coordinating a health clinic for women and children living in a safe house.
When Hagedorn accepted the appointment to the UMass Amherst Foundation Board, Chancellor John V. Lombardi said, “Sue Hagedorn in many ways is the quintessential alumna. She has had many life experiences. She followed a dream UMass Amherst made possible, and now is ready to leave her mark on our school.”
Criteria for recruiting the first Seedworks Nursing Professor for Social Justice will be developed by School of Nursing Dean Eileen Breslin and nursing school faculty, with input from Hagedorn. “This is an extraordinary, transformative gift, one that speaks to the heritage of this school and its strong commitment to community and to meeting the needs of the underserved,” says Breslin.
