Historical Timeline
| 1975 | Undergraduate Baccalaureate Nursing Program inaugurated; initial faculty included Elaine Goehner, RNC, PhD (currently a faculty member). | |
| 1977 | First graduating class of twenty-four undergraduate students completed
Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. National League for Nursing gave initial accreditation to Undergraduate Baccalaureate Nursing Program. Lois Kiehn was appointed chair of Nursing Program. |
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| 1979 | Dr. Marilynn Wood was appointed chair of the Department of Nursing. | |
| 1982 | Sharon Jackson was elected president of Nursing Alumni Association. | |
| 1983 | Master of Science in Nursing Program inaugurated. The Department of Nursing became the School of Nursing at Azusa Pacific College (APC); APC became Azusa Pacific University (APU). The School of Nursing Department of Continuing Education was established. |
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| 1987 | Della Blackburn, RN, PhD, was appointed dean of the School of Nursing. | |
| 1988 | Iota Sigma Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International (a nursing honors
society) was established at APU. Federal grant was written by Felicitas dela Cruz, RN, DNSc, FANAP, who was appointed to teach the master’s-level nurses in the High Risk Home Health Program. Dr. Jane Cardea was appointed director of the Master of Science in Nursing Program. |
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| 1989 | National League for Nursing gave initial accreditation to the Master’s
of Science in Nursing Program. Shila Wiebe, RN, MSN, was appointed director of Undergraduate Nursing Program. |
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| 1991 | Rose Liegler, RN, PhD was appointed dean of the School of Nursing. | |
| 1992 | Nursing students and faculty members participated in a medical missions
trip to Guatemala. Phyllis Esslinger, RN, MS, was appointed director of Master of Science in Nursing Program. |
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| 1993 | Drs. Izabella Trarnovskaia and Irina Kovaleva, Russian nursing educators,
visited Azusa Pacific University’s School of Nursing. Eight School of Nursing faculty presented APU nursing curriculum to Russian nurse educators in Golitsino, Russia, at a three-week conference: New Nurses for a New Russia. School of Nursing office and skills lab moved from East to West Campus. |
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| 1995 | Master’s-level Family Nursing Practitioner Program was established. | |
| 1996 | School earned accreditation from the National League for Nursing. | |
| 1997 | Homeless clinic ministry was established in local churches by Connie Brehm, RN, PhD, FNP, with the assistance of master’s-level students. | |
| 1998 | School of Nursing Neighborhood Wellness Center was opened in downtown
Azusa and funded by the California Endowment. Susan Smith was appointed
director. Leslie Van Dover, RN, PhD, was appointed director of the Master of Science in Nursing Program. |
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| 1999 | Nursing Distance Learning, based in San Bernardino for the Family Nurse Practitioner Program, was funded by California Manpower Grant. | |
| 1999 - 2000 | School of Nursing celebrates its 25th anniversary as APU celebrates it centennial. | |
| 2003 | School earned accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE). |
Note: This information is current for the 2007-08 academic year. For additional information, please contact the appropriate office.
