Making a Difference Through Leadership About the Cover: Leadership Takes Many Forms
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UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF NURSING MAGAZINE + SPRING 2008 PITTNurse THIS ISSUE: making a difference through leadership About the cover: Leadership takes many forms. In 1943, three Black women were admitted into Pitt’s nursing program for the first time in history. Rachel Poole, Adena Johnson Davis, and Nadine Frye broke the color barrier for future generations of Pitt nurses and went on to a lifetime of achievements. Inside PITT NURSE Features De a n ’s Me s s a g e 1 st u D e n t Le a D e r s 17 FRIENDS IN UNFRIENDLY TIMES 2 Rachel Poole, Adena Johnson Davis, and De v e L o p M e n t ne w s 21 Nadine Frye broke the color barrier for future Honor Roll of Donors 2006–07 23 generations of Pitt nurses. aL u M n i 32 Pitt Nurses are Everywhere 32 LEADING BY EXAMPLE 6 Alumni News + Notes 34 Over the past eight years, four School of Nursing Continuing Education 36 alumni have been honored as Legacy Laureates. nu r s e Be a t 38 re M e mb e r wh e n 40 EXEMPLIFYING ACADEMIC LEADERSHIP 12 Endowed professorships and chairs help universities attract top academic talent. IT’s all THERE CHECK OUT THE UniVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH ScHOOL OF NURSinG ALUMni SOciETY WEB SITE FOR THE laTEST alUMni NEWS. ViSIT WWW.NURSinG.piTT.EDU and clicK ON THE alUMni SOciETY icON AT THE BOTTOM OF THE paGE. FROM UpcOMinG EVENTS and MEETinGS TO EVENT HIGHliGHTS and MORE, IT’S all THERE! 2 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PITT NURSE SPRING 200B 1 DEAN'S MESSAGE THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH School In addition, faculty are lead authors of Nursing’s reputation as a prestigious on more than 80 reviewed articles or institution continues to manifest itself book chapters, and 64 percent of our on many fronts. full-time faculty have active research The school increased enrollment activity. The emphasis on research in the traditional undergraduate pro- productivity and quality is reflected gram, with a 150 percent increase in in the school’s rankings—currently annual new nurse graduates over the ranked sixth in NIH funding, third in past five years. An accelerated second number of NIH research grants, and degree BSN program prepares more seventh overall in the 2008 edition of through research, technology, and nurses for the workforce, while Fast ’s U.S. News & World Report America’s Best community health nursing. We are Track Back, a continuing education , with several individual Graduate Schools proud of all of our Pitt nursing alumni. program, prepares nurses returning programs ranking even higher. With more than 11,000 graduates from to work. Because 80 percent of the The rankings in turn have helped the school’s baccalaureate, master’s, school’s PhD graduates enter academic attract outstanding students: This year’s RN Options, and doctoral programs, careers, increased resources have been entering class had an average SAT score there are thousands of stories; we have directed to full-time PhD study to of 1232, and 56 percent were in the presented just a few here. ensure timely completion and entry top 10 percent of their graduating class. If you have a story we should tell, into academic careers. The school enrolls one in eight, or please be sure to complete the What’s Doctorally prepared faculty 12.5 percent of applicants, with approxi- Happening form, now inserted as a increased from 66 percent to 77 percent mately 50 percent of those admitted postage-paid self-mailer in the center (an 11 percent increase) over five years, enrolling. We have the highest four-year of the magazine, so we can update your and the number of tenured faculty graduation rates in the University, and information. We added some questions has nearly doubled. School of Nursing in 2007 we had our first University to help identify stories about nurses faculty hold significant leadership posi- Honors College graduate. who are making a difference for the tions in regional, state, and national All of these accomplishments reflect next issue of Pitt Nurse. A downloadable organizations. Many of the organiza- the school’s standing as one of the leading pdf of the What’s Happening form tions influence policy that directly schools of nursing in the country. In is available on our new Web site that impacts health care delivery and health this issue of we consider Pitt Nurse, you can fill out online and send to us care education. Faculty leadership posi- yet another indication of the school’s electronically, if you prefer. Or, feel free tions include advisory and review groups excellence: leadership. to call our alumni office toll free at at the National Institutes of Health This is the second issue in our series 1-866-217-1124. However you choose (NIH), non-NIH national and interna- looking at ways Pitt nurses are making to stay in touch, please let us hear about tional organizations including interdisci- a difference. In the last issue, we focused you and what you’re doing! plinary groups, and review groups for on Pitt nursing alums making a differ- national organizations that provide ence by implementing evidence-based funding for peer-reviewed research. practice in a community-based hospital in a rural setting. In future issues, we will JACQUELINE DUNBAR-JACOB, PhD, RN, FAAN focus on Pitt nurses making a difference DEAN, UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH SCHOOL OF NURSING PITT NURSE SPRING 200B 1 FEATURE M A K in G A diff E R E nc E T HR O U G H L E ad E R SHip Friends in Unfriendly Times 2 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH PITT NURSE SPRING 200B 3 M A K in G A diff E R E nc E T HR O U G H L E ad E R SHip IN 1943, THREE BlaCK WOMEN were admit- A year later, both women got “They wanted us to make our mark ted into Pitt’s nursing program for the in. Along with Poole’s friend Frye, on the world,” says Gertrude Johnson first time in history. Adena Johnson MLIT ’51, BSN ’47, they broke the Wade, Poole’s cousin who later became Davis, Rachel Poole, and Nadine Frye nursing school’s color barrier. When the first Black female principal in the celebrate the 60th anniversary of their they donned the [nursing] pins for the Pittsburgh school system. Johnson Wade graduation—and a lifetime of achieve- first time, another brick in the wall said her parents came from a generation ment in the Pittsburgh medical of racial segregation had fallen. of Southern Blacks for whom slavery community. Life for Black college students at was a not-too-distant memory. “A lot Johnson Davis, BSN ’47, remembers White schools such as Pitt in the 1940s of parents had histories—of being on marching up to the front desk at the could be isolating and full of trials, says plantations—and they had the real desire University of Pittsburgh School of Consuella Lewis, an assistant professor to see their kids make it.” Nursing, plunking down her test scores, of education at Pitt. “They were always Edward Lee Johnson, the man report cards, and transcripts. She had haunted by instructors who didn’t feel who raised Poole, came to Pittsburgh in been an A student at Peabody High they belonged there. Classmates treated 1903 from Virginia, with a fourth-grade School. For sure, she thought, this will them like they were invisible.” education. Poole’s aunt, Laura Belle get me in. The school’s secretary, a Except for all-Black universities in Johnson, had come to Pittsburgh with pretty White woman with a lilting the South, little opportunity existed for an eighth-grade education. Southern accent, gave it to her straight: Blacks in higher education. Those who “They had limited formal education The school was not accepting Blacks. did get into White schools faced extraor- but were very wise people,” Poole says. That same year, a slender, self- dinary segregation, Lewis says. “There was no question that [Gertrude] assured young woman, covaledictorian at Those Blacks who did get in were and I were going to go to school every Westinghouse High, went to every nurs- the cream of the crop. “They had to day, do well in school every day, and go ing school in the city. They all said the be exceptional students, way beyond to college. We were never told that. We same thing. Whites only. the standards required of other just knew that they expected it, and we “I was absolutely livid,” remembers students,” Lewis says. did it. It was as simple as that.” Poole, BSN ’47, who later became the Johnson Davis, Poole, and Frye Johnson Davis’ father, Theodore first Black director of nursing at Western fit that bill. They were raised by men Johnson, came to Pittsburgh from Psychiatric Institute and Clinic. and women who had come of age in Georgia with a third-grade education. the Jim Crow South, who insisted their While working as a garbage carrier, he children become went to school at night. He eventually “somebody.” got a high school diploma and took Opposite page, left: Nadine Frye (second from left), Rachel Poole classes at Pennsylvania State University. (center), and Adena Johnson Davis are shown with friends in 1943 He became a union shop steward and or 1944. Right: Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority for African American later a state representative. women. Nadine Frye is shown fourth from the right, back row, and Rachel Poole is in the center directly behind the “K.” PITT NURSE SPRING 200B 3 M A K in G A diff E R E nc E T HR O U G H L E ad E R SHip In 1943, three Black women were admitted into Pitt’s nursing program for the first time in history.