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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 2008-09 academic year; however, all stated academic information is subject to change. Please refer to the current Academic Catalog for the most current and controlling information. For additional information, please contact the appropriate office.