College of Nursing History

1910 Gordon Keller School of Nursing Established

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Gordon Keller Memorial Hospital, opened in 1905 on Lafayette Street, was named for Gordon Keller, a native of Georgia who moved to Tampa in 1883. The School of Nursing, established in 1910 and offering a three-year diploma, held its first formal graduation in 1915. The program was absorbed by Hillsborough Community College in 1972, however, the archives were donated to USF and the College of Nursing became the "home base" for Alumni. The hospital, which moved to Davis Islands in 1927, became known as Tampa Municipal Hospital (shown in photo) and, in 1956, as Tampa General Hospital.

 

1965 USF College of Nursing Authorized by Florida Legislature

1965 Dr. Alice Keefe Appointed Founding Dean

1969 College Accredited by Florida Board of Nursing

• 1973 Dr. Gwendoline MacDonald Appointed as Dean

• 1973 1st Cohort Admitted

• 1975 Accredited by NLNAC

• 1975 1st Cohort Graduated

• 1976 College moved from trailers to new buildings in the Health Sciences Center

• 1977 RN to BS program added to the college

• 1980 Began MS Program: Adult Health Nursing

• 1981 Master's program graduates first 8 students

• 1982 Federal advanced nurse training grant provides support for gerontological nursing concentration

• 1983 NLN granted initial accreditation to MS program

• 1985 Graduate concentrations added in public/community health nursing and psychiatric/mental health nursing

• 1987 Dr. Judith Plawecki Appointed Dean

• 1988 Family Health Nursing graduate concentration added

• 1990 Office of Nursing Research established

• 1991 Multiple partnerships established

• 1993 100% NCLEX pass-rate

• 1994 Child Amblyopia Prevention Screen Program

• 1995 Judeo-Chtistian Health Clinic

• 1996 PhD Program Approved

• 1997 Dr. Patricia Burns Appointed as Dean

• 1999 First NIH Funded Research Grant Awarded to USF College of Nursing

• 2000 Accredited by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN)

• 2001 The Clinical Collaborative Board was Initiated

• 2005 DNP Program Approved

• 2006 George & Marian Miller Center for Virtual Learning and the Center for Advanced Nursing Opened

• 2006 CRNA Program Accredited by COA

• 2007 Veterans Affairs Nursing Academy Established

• 2010 Dr. Dianne Morrison-Beedy Appointed as Dean

• 2011 Collaboration with University of Sterling in Scotland

• 2013 Veteran-BS Program Launches

• 2017 Dr. Victoria Rich Appointed as Dean