Grand opening No unveiling would be complete without a celebration. A special sneak preview event for 100 School of Nursing and MCGHSN alumni and their guests was held in the Ruehlow Nursing Complex. Alumni were impressed with the facility and also how far medicine and nursing education have advanced over the years. Evelyn Nicholson ’48, the oldest living alumna, was a special guest that evening. Missing from the event, but not from everyone’s hearts, was Margaret Bahr. Bahr was a 1938 graduate of MCGHSN who taught courses there from 1944-1957. In 1957 she assumed the role of acting director of nursing education, and in 1963 she became director of nursing education until her retirement in 1977. Bahr passed away in December 2012. More than 200 students, faculty, staff and members of the community attended the official grand opening of the Ruehlow Nursing Complex on May 6, 2013, which was a great way to kick off National Nurses Week.
Regent Kathleen Ruehlow ’72
Left to right: Barbara Weihing ’65, Dr. Sherrill Leifer and Janet Bitzan ’71 chatted at the alumni sneak preview event.
Megan Syversen ’13 presented Regent Ruehlow with an MSOE School of Nursing pin and lab coat.
Regent Kathleen Ruehlow MSOE Regent Kathleen Ruehlow ’72 is a graduate of the Milwaukee County General Hospital School of Nursing, which merged into MSOE in 1995. Kathy is the widow of MSOE alumnus Gerald Ruehlow ’69. Jerry was president – chief technology officer of Generac Power Systems Inc. and also a Distinguished Alumnus. Regent Ruehlow is president of the Ruehlow Family Foundation. She is a strong supporter of MSOE students through a multiple-student scholarship program established in the Ruehlow family name, and also through her major support of the nursing complex. In her remarks at the grand opening event, Ruehlow said, “Jerry and I had many discussions about philanthropy, and Jerry expressed to me that he wanted to leave a footprint that said, ‘we were here and cared about the people in our community.’ Jerry died in 2004, and the Ruehlow Nursing Complex is just one of the ways that I am continuing to accomplish his wishes, one footprint at a time.”
Members of the Ruehlow family attended the Grand Opening. Left to right: Brian Woods, Renee Woods, Brett McKitrick, Kathy Ruehlow, Terri McKitrick, David Ruehlow ’07.
DIMENSIONS x SUMMER 2013
17