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Transcript of interview with Rosemary Witt by Claytee D. White, November 7, 2006

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Narrator

Date

2006-11-07

Description

Rosemary Witt grew up in the very small town of Columbia, Iowa. She went to a two-room country school in Columbia and attended high school in Knoxville. Her nursing diploma was completed at Iowa Methodist Hospital in Des Moines. She then worked in the operating room for a month or two and switched to pediatrics. When Rosemary's dad fell ill, she moved back to Knoxville to be closer to him and found employment at the VA psychiatric hospital. After five years there, first as staff and then as head nurse, she got the opportunity to attend a nursing program at the University of Iowa which paid tuition and a stipend. She completed her baccalaureate degree, and then worked as an assistant instructor. In the late '60s, Rosemary decided to further her education, and went to the University of Washington in Seattle for her master's in psychiatric nursing. She stayed for three years afterwards to teach on that faculty, and then attended a workshop in Las Vegas in 1971. Rosemary was attracted by the sunshine in Las Vegas, and called UNLV to see if there were any openings. She interviewed and was hired as a psychiatric nurse instructor. In '75 or '76, she decided to pursue her doctorate at the University of Texas in Austin, and persuaded her sister to move to Las Vegas to watch her house and pets while she was away at school. In the many years that she's been at UNLV, Rosemary had served as chair of the nursing program for over thirty of those years. She also served as interim director for a year while a search was conducted for a dean. Today she teaches classes and is involved in research. Rosemary recalls the early days when several disciplines were housed in Frazier Hall. Having spent over thirty years at UNLV, she has seen many changes in the campus and in the city. Today the nursing program has its own school and inhabits most of a large building. She and other instructors are involved in research which improves life for Las Vegans and patients everywhere. She is confident that the nursing school will continue to grow and offer more educational opportunities for students.

Digital ID

OH_02004_book
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    Citation

    Rosemary Witt oral history interview, 2006 November 07. OH-02004. [Transcript]. Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada. http://n2t.net/ark:/62930/d1jw89q7b

    Rights

    This material is made available to facilitate private study, scholarship, or research. It may be protected by copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity rights, or other interests not owned by UNLV. Users are responsible for determining whether permissions are necessary from rights owners for any intended use and for obtaining all required permissions. Acknowledgement of the UNLV University Libraries is requested. For more information, please see the UNLV Special Collections policies on reproduction and use (https://www.library.unlv.edu/speccol/research_and_services/reproductions) or contact us at special.collections@unlv.edu.

    Standardized Rights Statement

    Language

    English

    Format

    image/tiff

    An Interview with Rosemary Witt An Oral History Conducted by Claytee D. White The UNLV @ Fifty Oral History Project Oral History Research Center at UNLV University Libraries University of Nevada Las Vegas 2007 ©UNLV@ FIFTY Oral History Project Un