DIMENSIONS Milwaukee School of Engineering Magazine
Senior Editor: Sandra Everts Editor: JoEllen Burdue Managing Editor: Pamela Seiler Design Coordinator: Leigh Ann Hass Graphic Designers: Andrea Davies, Peg Houghton Contributing Writers: Athletic Department, JoEllen Burdue, Loreen Pace, Jane Paige, Pamela Seiler, Hermann Viets, Ph.D. Contributing Photography: Athletic Department, Bassmaster, CSSIA, Dr. Eric Durant ’98, Mark Hines, Peg Houghton, James Kieselburg, Photography Atelier - Elizabeth Schatz, Matt Schultz Permission to reprint, in whole or in part, articles contained in this publication is hereby granted, provided a version of the following credit line be used: Reprinted with permission of Milwaukee School of Engineering. Please direct all correspondence, news, corrections and changes of address to the address below. Also, if you receive more than one copy of any Dimensions, please mail or fax us the address panel from each issue. We will make every effort to prevent future duplicate mailings. If you prefer to receive Dimensions electronically rather than a printed hard copy, please email everts@msoe.edu with that request, and provide your name and email address. Use, reproduction or storage of the name, address or other information about any individual identified within this magazine is strictly prohibited and constitutes misappropriation of corporate property.
Dimensions
Marketing and Public Affairs Department Milwaukee School of Engineering 1025 North Broadway Milwaukee, WI 53202-3109 Phone: (414) 277-7135 Fax: (414) 277-7453 Email: everts@msoe.edu Website: www.msoe.edu Summer 2013 Volume 27, No. 2
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President’s Message This issue of Dimensions takes a good look at how far the MSOE nursing program has come. In that context, it may be of interest to review the sequence of events resulting in nursing at MSOE. I received a call in 1993 asking if MSOE might have an interest in acquiring the Milwaukee County General Hospital School of Nursing (MCGHSN). The first person I consulted was Professor Ray Palmer ’68 (now deceased). It may seem strange to ask the chair of our Electrical Engineering Department about nursing, but the connection was Professor Palmer’s wife, Sharon, a graduate of MCGHSN. Through Sharon we initially learned more about their nursing program and how it might fit into MSOE. We also Dr. Viets and MSOE Regent Kathleen Ruehlow ’72. learned of the many marriages over the years between MSOE engineers and MCGHSN nurses. I suppose the reason is the pragmatic nature of both engineering and nursing students. For me there were two drivers which made nursing a positive addition to MSOE: 1. While the demand for existing engineering and business programs cycled with the economy, nursing responded to a different drive – demographics – and the future demographics looked very positive. 2. Since nursing had about the same, but inverted, ratio of women to men, a nursing program would make the MSOE campus more attractive to women – both in nursing and engineering. The reputation of MCGHSN for graduating highly skilled nurses was widely held. However, running the MCGHSN nursing program was very expensive for Milwaukee County and thus it was with the Milwaukee County Board’s approval and support that the program was passed to MSOE. The MSOE Board of Regents enthusiastically endorsed the move and we were on our way. The MSOE School of Nursing has been a wonderful addition to MSOE. We owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Rev. Mary Louise Brown for her efforts to grow and accredit the nursing program during her nine years as department chair. Dr. Debra Jenks is now continuing that fine leadership with the help of a transforming gift to establish a new Nursing Complex from nursing alumna and Regent, Kathy Ruehlow ’72. To all of them and our fine faculty go our thanks for a first-rate program and now almost 300 graduates.
Hermann Viets, Ph.D. President