Projection to Completion Clinical Program, 1959-61
The Brokaw Diploma School of Nursing was incorporated into the Brokaw Hospital in 1902. Twenty-one years later, the program began to work in conjunction with Illinois Wesleyan University to provide a five-year combined collegiate and professional course program which led to a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Wesleyan and a Graduate Nurse Diploma from Brokaw. Students would attend Brokaw for three years to receive “technical” nursing education and two years at Wesleyan for liberal arts education.
In May of 1956, Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees and Brokaw’s Board of Directors modified this program to establish the Brokaw School of Nursing of Illinois Wesleyan, which led to a path to the initial planning of Illinois Wesleyan University’s School of Nursing program in 1958. This program differed from the original program as it was only years, allowed students to qualify for state testing at the end of the fourth year without additional training, and distributed professional nursing education throughout all four years instead of obtaining education at two different locations. With the growing need for graduate-trained nurses in the field, the impending closing of Brokaw’s Diploma school in 1961, and the inability to achieve accreditation from the already established program, Wesleyan worked meticulously for a year to formulate the foundation for this new program. By September 1959, IWU’s School of Nursing opened its doors to its first class of nursing students.
Within its first year, Wesleyan’s nursing program faced issues with being recognized as an accredited baccalaureate nursing program by the League of Nurses, as there had to be at least one graduating class before an accreditation approval could be conducted. This barrier led to difficulties in students receiving federal scholarships that deemed funding would not be received until they transferred to a school with an already established accredited program. However, by May of 1963, Wesleyan officially received state and national accreditation, allowing its first baccurate nursing students to graduate with full recognition.
Almost 100 years later, Wesleyan continues to produce exceptional prospective nurses through a rigorous curriculum, hands-on clinical experience, and commitment to holistic care.
Early School of Nursing Correspondence
School of Nursing Class of 1963
School of Nursing Class 1963 was the first class in the baccalaureate program. They are shown here receiving their diplomas from Dr. Mary Shanks, Class of 1947 and School of Nursing Director.
Dr. Shanks is at the podium and President Lloyd Bertholf is in the background. Classmembers from L to R are: Mary Backlund, Kathy Broughton, Jane Cassidy, Cathy Klinetop, Diane Lindemann, Nancy Swan, Lola Toigo, and Cathy White. Names supplied by Lola Toigo Lehman, to assist in creating a collection commemorating the 50th Anniversary of IWU's BSN Program, April 17, 2010.
Illinois Wesleyan School of Nursing & Health Sciences Today!
Class of 2025
From L to R: Alexa Anders, Hannah Astudillo, Megan Barrameda, Kayla Borg, Hannah Braun, Latina Chavarria, Morgan Coovert, Alauna Coggins, Nikolas Espejo
Line 2: Janet Euwema, Mia Fiandaca, Molly Flondro, Spencer Fulton
Line 3: Bella Garcia, Cierra Gardner, Karida Grant, Natalie Heaton
Line 4: Imani Horton, Kylie Hundman, Devyn Kennedy, Emily Kleffman
Line 5: Lauren Kruper, Angel Lee, Davion Lemon, Alyssa Lowder, Brianna McNeil, Abigail Morris, Izzy Sernel, Katherine Palmer, Amelia Pena, Jovan Perez
Line 6: Grace Petrey, Tessa Preheim, Nur Aldeen Qatanani, Grace Spader, Samantha Washington, Lukas Wenz, Victoria Witzig, Summer Yi