August 21, 1980

On this day, the IU School of Nursing held its first orientation workshop for minority nursing students. The aim was "to focus on concerns of minority students in the health professions."

An active group of African-American faculty in the School of Nursing worked to expand opportunities for all minorities in the nursing profession. In 1979 the Committee of Minority Faculty, previously called the Committee of Black Faculty, chose to include male students and faculty within the orbit of minority status in IUSN, recognizing that the profession was then predominately female. It pressed for a minority recruitment plan to bring into the school and profession qualified persons from minority groups. In the 1979-1980 academic year, the school undertook a search for an academic counselor to focus on minority recruitment.  The minority nursing-student orientation workshop was a product of these efforts.

To examine further the history of the School of Nursing at IUPUI, please contact IUPUI Special Collections and Archives speccoll@iupui.edu.