Alumni

UMass Amherst College of Nursing Celebrates 65th Anniversary

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Nursing class
Nursing class

AMHERST, Mass. – The College of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts Amherst celebrated its 65th anniversary Sept. 28 with a dinner attended by about 150 alumni, current and retired faculty, students, staff and friends of the college.

The nursing program at UMass Amherst was established in 1953 by Mary Maher and evolved from a division within public health to a school, eventually becoming a college in 2013.

The anniversary event in the Lincoln Campus Center, was supported, in part, by sponsor Cooley Dickinson Healthcare.

At the dinner, Melanie Dreher, dean of nursing from 1988-96, gave a keynote address reviewing milestones in the college’s history and acknowledging the dedication of the founders.

Current Dean Stephen Cavanagh, spoke about the future of nursing and thanked supporters of the college.

Cavanagh said, “The College of Nursing is very proud of our 65-year history and the nurses we have educated. Our alumni are leading the profession in every corner of the world and our faculty are leading the way into the future of healthcare with their research. As we embrace our future, we want to honor those who paved the way and initiated our tradition of greatness.”

Professor emeritus Ann Sheridan, who served as interim director of nursing from 1986-88, was honored for her contributions to the college. A portrait of Sheridan was unveiled and will be put on permanent display in Skinner Hall.

The UMass Amherst College of Nursing was the first public baccalaureate nursing program in Massachusetts and became the first nursing college in the state to offer a publicly supported PhD program in 1994. Currently, the college offers undergraduate degrees through the nursing major, RN to BS, and accelerated bachelor of science programs. Master’s degree, doctor of nursing practice, and PhD programs are also offered. Several post-graduate certificates are available as well.

The college is home to the UManage Center for Building the Science of Symptom Self-Management, funded by a $1.23 million grant from the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR). Other faculty grants include funding from the Susan G. Komen Foundation for Breast Cancer Research, National Collegiate Athletics Association, and the Center for Research on Families at UMass Amherst.