This year marks eight decades of nursing at Texas Christian University’s Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences, celebrating the past and historic moments in the college and the future of nursing.
The oldest nursing program in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, TCU Nursing has continued to evolve. A timeline of the 80 years chronicles desegregation, the establishment of ROTC nursing, the pioneering of computers in a nursing program, numerous program expansions and additions.
Suzy Lockwood ’83, associate dean of nursing, has been with TCU for nearly three decades teaching and leading future nurses into the field.
“To have been here that long in a university setting, with the reputation and all that we have is hugely significant because of the impact our students and our faculty have had on the community,” she said. “Eighty-something percent of them stay here and work in the DFW area.”
Lockwood has had a part in some major milestones for the college as well, such as being one of the founders of the Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and founding director of the Center for Oncology Education & Research.
“I feel really honored to have been able to have some impact on what we’re doing and how we’re doing it, and our reputation and the support that we have from the community, and from people who have their only connection to TCU was that they had a TCU nursing student take care of them and to highlight those things,” Lockwood said.
TCU Nursing Alumnae Reflect
Charlotte Pierce ’63 was an adjunct faculty for nursing after retiring from working in the Texas Health Resource System for 40 years.
She said her time spent at TCU for nursing prepared her for the workforce after graduating.
“I had lots of good experiences and lots of good mentors after graduating, and so I felt very prepared,” Pierce said.
Pierce’s favorite memory from attending TCU for nursing was the camaraderie and the friends she made, which flourished into lifelong friendships.
Her message to current and future nursing students: “To enjoy the ride.”
Phyllis Allen ’65 spent 25 years as a nurse, primarily in obstetrics and gynecology, after graduating from TCU with a bachelor’s in nursing and continued to give back to future nurses by teaching at several institutions, including being a full-time faculty member and then adjunct instructor at TCU.
“They have so many wonderful ways of teaching, and it just keeps evolving; it’s amazing,” Allen said. “There’s lots of new ways of doing things, and it’s great to see TCU, how they keep up with everything.”
Allen said it was rewarding to give back to nursing students and be part of their early education, teaching basic nursing skills in the lab.
“I got to teach them the very basic skills, how to take blood pressure and how to listen to heart sounds and those kinds of things,” Allen said. “It was so neat to see the joy when they would accomplish the skill.”
Both Pierce and Allen are excited to attend the 80th anniversary celebration on April 16. Learn more about celebrating the anniversary.