Abstract
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Nursing Records (1950-2019) contain records documenting the history of the UNLV School of Nursing. The materials include records from the nursing school's Alumni Association, including financial reports, bylaws, correspondence, and membership information; recruitment materials from the School of Nursing, including brochures, photographs, and program requirements; history of the School of Nursing, including photographs, newspaper clippings, a short summary of the program, and a short documentary film comprised of digital video files; and accreditation information, including newspaper articles, accreditation reports, and evaluations of the program from the Nevada State Board. The materials also include nursing student uniforms, caps, and nursing capes from the 1950s and 1960s.
Finding Aid PDF
Date
Extent
Related People/Corporations
Scope and Contents Note
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Nursing Records (1950-2019) contain records documenting the history of the UNLV School of Nursing. The materials include records from the nursing school's Alumni Association, including financial reports, bylaws, correspondence, and membership information; recruitment materials from the School of Nursing, including brochures, photographs, and program requirements; history of the School of Nursing, including photographs, newspaper clippings, a short summary of the program, and a short documentary film comprised of digital video files; and accreditation information, including newspaper articles, accreditation reports, and evaluations of the program from the Nevada State Board. The materials also include nursing student uniforms, caps, and nursing capes from the 1950s and 1960s.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Advance notice and arrangements are required for access to digital files; please contact UNLV Special Collections and Archives for more information.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish.
Arrangement
Materials have been organized thematically into four categories: the history of the School of Nursing, nursing program recruiting materials, accreditation and evaluation of the School of Nursing, and the Alumni Association.
Biographical / Historical Note
In the 1950s and 1960s, Nevada experienced a nursing shortage, largely as a result of the lack of nursing schools in the state and rapid population growth. To address the problem, the Nevada Board of Regents approved the implementation of an associate degree program at the campus of Nevada Southern University (now known as the University of Nevada, Las Vegas) in 1965, and that fall the first students were admitted. The program was initially administered by the Orvis School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), but by January 1966, control was transferred to Nevada Southern. The first students graduated in spring of 1967.
Because Nevada Southern only offered an associate degree program, students were given the opportunity to take baccalaureate-level classes from UNR via the Intercampus Television Project. In 1969 NSU became the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), and in 1971 UNLV began offering a full baccalaureate program in nursing. In 1983 the Board of Regents approved the Master of Science in Nursing program at UNLV, and it admitted its first students in 1984. The associates program was phased out beginning in 1987 and ending in 1989, leaving only the baccalaureate and masters programs. The nursing program established its own alumni association in 1991.
As enrollment grew, the Department of Health Sciences needed a bigger building, and in 1992 the Health Sciences Building was dedicated, and the nursing program settled in on the fourth floor. The department also added the Family Nurse Practitioner graduate program that same year, and alumna Dr. Janet Quillian, from the first associates class, served as its director.
At the start of the new century the department continued to grow, both in number of programs and in student enrollment. In response to another nursing shortage in 2001, the Nevada legislature mandated the school double its nursing enrollment. Year-round classes began in 2003, the total length of the program was shortened, and the lengths of semesters were standardized. In 2004 the department was renamed the UNLV School of Nursing. In 2005 the program welcomed its first PhD students, who began teaching baccalaureate-level classes as part of their PhD requirements. The UNLV School of Nursing remains one of the primary sources for training nurses in Southern Nevada.
Source:
"A History of the UNLV School of Nursing," University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Nursing, 2017. https://www.unlv.edu/nursing/about/history.
Preferred Citation
University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Nursing Records, 1950-2019. UA-00011. Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
Materials were donated in 2016 by Maureen Matteson-Kane; accession number 2016-056. One folder of records previously transferred from the School of Nursing, consisting of its program requirements, was added to the 2016 accession. Materials were also donated in 2019 and 2020 by the School of Nursing; accession numbers: 2019-144 and 2020-031.
Processing Note
Processing of the UNLV School of Nursing records was funded in part by the Zeta Kappa Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau. The materials were processed, arranged, and described by Lindsay Oden in 2017. Files were transferred off of optical discs and access surrogates were created. In 2021, Tammi Kim accessioned the 2019 and 2020 additions and updated the finding aid.