A brief history of our College

Marcia A. Dake

Marcia Dake, R.N., Ed.D., the College’s first dean, and the faculty she recruited came to UK with a mission: to create an innovative program that would serve as a model to other forward-looking nursing educators. Faculty and the three deans who followed have built on this goal and set their sights on becoming one of the top programs in the nation.

For the more than 4500 students who have graduated from the College since 1964, their connection has had both personal and institutional dimensions. Alumni have built rewarding careers and in doing so, have helped to advance the College’s reputation through their contributions to the profession.

The College of Nursing opened in the fall of 1960 as a reaction to warnings that the state would soon face a serious shortage of medical caregivers. Kentucky legislators authorized the construction of a medical center at UK in 1956. The new facility would provide state-of-the-art care to all Kentucky residents, regardless of their ability to pay.

Intent on gaining respect for the field, nursing leaders had been working to increase educational requirements and to set minimum entrance standards to nursing for more than 60 years.
With an initial class of 35 students, the College of Nursing B.S.N. program was UK’s only undergraduate program with a selective admission policy.

Early in her tenure, Dean Dake was under pressure to increase student enrollment to alleviate the coming nursing shortage. In the spring of 1962, she began planning to establish several associate degree programs around the state and by 1967, 36 percent of Kentucky’s new nurses graduated from two-year programs.

Dean Dake had resisted moving too quickly to establish graduate programs. However, the associate degree programs, all in need of master’s-prepared instructors, convinced her it was time to move forward with graduate training in nursing at UK.

In September 1970, Kentucky’s first class of nine students began UK’s M.S.N. Program – just as the nurse practitioner movement was gaining momentum to deal with rising health care costs and the continued shortage of physicians.

Marion E. McKenna

Marion McKenna, R.N., Ed.D., succeeded Dean Dake as dean in 1971. Her initial priority was to accommodate the rapidly increasing number of students with additional faculty and space. Construction on a new facility didn’t begin until 1975 and after delays due to budget problems, in 1979 the College settled into its own building.

After a great deal of debate, the traditional B.S.N. program was discontinued in order to concentrate on the R.N.-B.S.N. Option and master’s programs. However, in 1981 the faculty voted unanimously to reinstate the four-year program.

In the midst of phasing out the baccalaureate program, Dean McKenna worked to start a doctoral program, recognizing that the College was at an important crossroads. It could not hope to establish a doctoral program until it had demonstrated a proven track record in research, but she had to act immediately or risk being shut out of the growing circle of institutions with doctoral programs in nursing.

UK would again be a leader, offering the state’s first doctoral program in nursing. Charged with writing the proposal, Juanita Fleming, then assistant dean for graduate education, determined that the state and profession would most benefit if UK offered a Ph.D. with concentrations in adult nursing, parent-child nursing, and psychiatric/mental health.

Dean McKenna passed away in 2001, but was able to join the College in celebrating the school’s 40th anniversary celebration in 2000.

Carolyn A. Williams

In 1984, after Dean McKenna suggested to Dr. Peter Bosomworth, then vice president for the Chandler Medical Center, that the College needed a dean who “moved in the research circles,” Carolyn A. Williams, R.N., Ph.D., F.A.A.N., a native Kentuckian, filled the position. While at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, serving a joint appointment with the Schools of Public Health and Nursing, Williams developed a reputation as a path-breaking researcher.

She helped to develop one of the early statements outlining possible new directions for nursing research and she helped lobby for federal legislation that eventually led to the creation of the Institute for Nursing Research.

Dean Williams further promoted the development of nursing research as a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, an organization designed to recognize leaders in the profession. When she arrived at UK in July 1984, she served as president of the academy.

From the beginning of her tenure, she made it clear that faculty research would be required for advancement. Because of Dean Williams’ recruitment efforts, numerous nationally and internationally known professors were drawn to UK.

While much of the College’s focus shifted from undergraduate to graduate education in the early 1980s, the baccalaureate program remained strong and healthy. Using vigorous recruitment efforts, the College of Nursing was able to maintain its class sizes in spite of a nationwide downturn in enrollment.

To keep B.S.N. graduates “in the pipeline” toward graduate studies, in 1994 the College developed an innovative, one-year, community health nurse internship program sponsored by the Good Samaritan Foundation, to serve medically underserved populations.

After success with this program, a one-year fellows program for graduate nurse practitioners was begun. The fellowship experience offers recent graduate nurse practitioners the opportunity for exposure and growth in the community setting, and the additional benefit of working in a nurse-managed clinic while being mentored by fellow nurse practitioners.

Because the College has such a strong commitment to faculty involvement in clinical practice, a faculty practice program was begun in 1984. Ten years later, UK was the first nursing program in the state to establish formal faculty practice plans and include appointments with the health sciences campus at UK, College of Nursing owned and operated sites, and through contracts with area clinical agencies.

The first students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in 1987, nearly 10 years after initial steps toward creating it were taken. Two full-time and two part-time students began that spring. In the fall, six additional students joined them. Over time, interest in the program has increased and today 56 students are enrolled.

In fall 2001, the College opened its newest graduate offering, leading the nation with the Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) Program. The D.N.P. prepares nurses to assume senior clinical leadership and executive-level positions in health care systems. The first six students graduated in 2005.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than one million new and replacement nurses are needed by 2012. In an effort to respond to the growing shortage of nurses nationwide, beginning in June 2004, the College began offering the Second Degree B.S.N. Option. This is for people who already have a bachelor's degree in another field but would like to have a career in nursing. In four and one-half semesters students will be ready to take the nursing licensure exam. 

Research activities, which grew substantially under Dr. Williams’ leadership, today focus on interdisciplinary efforts to prevent and manage chronic health problems and health services/care delivery research focused on improvement of health outcomes.

Williams served as dean for 22 years and returned to the faculty in 2006.

Jane Marie Kirschling

In August 2006 Jane Marie Kirschling, R.N., D.N.S., became the College’s fourth dean. She was formerly dean of the University of Southern Maine College of Nursing and Health Professions.

Dean Kirschling has previously served as associate dean at the University of Rochester School of Nursing and Oregon Health Sciences University School of Nursing. A psychiatric nurse, she has published numerous research papers on the experience of terminal illness among patients and caregivers and the grief process, among other topics.

“Under the able leadership of Dean Carolyn Williams, the College has gained national prominence for innovative educational programming, important contributions to nursing knowledge, and faculty practice in the community, as well as advanced practice nursing,” said Dean Kirschling.

With superb credentials in management and educational leadership, Dean Kirschling continues to support the direction of the College. Bringing her own vision and style to promote continued excellence in education, research, and practice, she is engaging the College with the University in strategic events that support the University’s agenda to attain top-twenty status among public colleges and universities.

One of the first major changes being made under Kirschling is doubling enrollment of the B.S.N. class, effective with the fall 2007 class.

In 2007, the College inducted its first five alumni into the College of Nursing Hall of Fame.

According to U.S.News & World Report in its 2008 issue of "America’s Best Graduate Schools," the College's graduate program is tied for 26th in the nation overall.

Faculty scholarly activity at the College was recently ranked as tenth out of 99 public and private U.S. PhD nursing programs (2008 Academic Analytics, LCC Report). Our first-time pass rate for BSN graduates taking the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) over the last five years has been an average of 97 percent.

About the Medical Center and College of Nursing

Opening in 2011, the new UK HealthCare Chandler Hospital promises to be both the leading patient-centered medical center in Kentucky and a landmark architectural statement in the heart of Lexington. The University of Kentucky HealthCare Enterprise is comprised of  UK Chandler Hospital, UK HealthCare Samaritan Hospital, Kentucky Children's Hospital and is closely affiliated with the Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, adjacent to Chandler Hospital.

All are teaching and research facilities. UK Chandler Hospital was the first in the region to receive the highest honor a hospital can receive for its nursing services. Also on the medical center campus are the University's health care colleges: Dentistry, Health Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, and Public Health.

The Medical Center draws on a wide area covering several states, with the principal catchment area in the Eastern Kentucky (Appalachian) Health Services Area. UK has developed a multitude of affiliations with organizations and agencies in targeted regions, including affiliations with federally funded community centers.

The College of Nursing, located in the six-story College of Nursing Building, is located just across the street from Chandler Hospital and Kentucky Children's Hospital. It offers accredited programs leading to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing and Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) degrees. The College has a well-established and continually growing faculty research program, an active academic faculty practice program and continuing education program. The College's graduate program is tied for 26th in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report in its 2008 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools."

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