Office of Public Relations – Newsroom
News Release
CU School of Nursing Alumni Inducted into Colorado Nurses Association Hall of Fame
DENVER (October 5, 2004) — Seven University of Colorado Denver School of Nursing alumni are among 15 Colorado nurses been selected as Charter Members of the Colorado Nurses Association (CNA) Hall of Fame, according to information recently released by CNA.
They were inducted at the Centennial Gala Banquet on Sept. 30 at the Westin Hotel in Westminster, Colo. as part of the 2004 CNA Centennial Convention.
CNA's Centennial Committee determined that current and past members, whose dedication and achievements have significantly affected the Colorado nursing profession, should be honored for their contributions. Therefore, the association selected 2004, its centennial year, for unveiling the CNA Hall of Fame.
All inductees, nominated by colleagues and peers, met the following criteria:
- The nominee must have demonstrated leadership that affected the health and/or social history of Colorado through sustained, lifelong contributions in or to nursing practice, education, administration, research, economics, or literature.
- The nominee must have been prepared in a formal nursing program.
- The nominee must have worked in or represented Colorado.
- The nominee must be or have been a CNA member.
- The achievements of the nominee must have enduring value to nursing beyond the nominee's lifetime.
Patterned after the American Nurses Association (ANA) Hall of Fame, the CNA Hall of Fame will be permanent and will serve as a lasting tribute to nurses whose dedication and achievements have significantly impacted the Colorado nursing profession throughout the years. Additional members will be inducted on an annual basis as appropriate. All members will be honored in a permanent memorial located at CNA headquarters in Denver.
Charter Inductees who are alumni of the CU School of Nursing include:
- Marilynn E. Doenges, Colorado Springs, Colo., CU BS Nursing '68.
- Lola M. Fehr, MS, CAE, FAAN, Greeley, Colo. and Albany, New York, CU-DENVER AND HEALTH SCIENCES CENTERMS Nursing '78; former executive director of Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) and current executive director of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA).
- Deloris M. Giltner, PhD, Pueblo, Colo., UC Denver and Health Sciences Center, BS Nursing '59; former CU-Health Sciences Center School of Nursing associate professor and associate dean for Student Affairs.
- Ruth M. Steinfurth Harboe (deceased), Lakewood, Colo., CU-Health Sciences Center, MS Nursing '67.
- Karren Kowalski, PhD, FAAN, Larkspur, Colo., CU-Health Sciences Center, MS Nursing '71; project director, Colorado Center for Nursing Excellence, and president, CU-Health Sciences Center School of Nursing Alumni Association.
- Elda I. Staver Popiel, (deceased), Denver, Colo., CU-Health Sciences Center, MS Nursing '59.
- Jean Watson, PhD, FAAN, Boulder, Colorado, CU-Health Sciences Center, BS Nursing '64, and MS Nursing '66, University of Colorado Distinguished Professor, long-standing faculty leader at UCD School of Nursing, and noted author.
Other CNA Hall of Fame Charter Inductees include:
- Louie Croft Boyd (deceased), Denver, the first nurse licensed in Colorado.
- Sylvia M. Clark (deceased), Monument, Colo., MPA '90 from University of Colorado Denver, and former director of Planned Parenthood.
- Oca Cushman (deceased), Denver, Colo., former Superintendent (chief nursing officer) at The Children's Hospital for 40 years.
- Jo Eleanor Elliott, MA, FAAN, Boulder, Colo., a colleague important to Nursing in the West based on her past leadership at WICHE/WCHEN (Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education/Western Commission on Higher Education in Nursing), and nationally at the Division of Nursing, U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
- Gertrude Potts Ragan (deceased), Loveland, Colo.
- Mary C. Walker (deceased), Denver.
- Althea E. Williams, Fort Collins, Colo., BS Nursing '41 from Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences, Colorado Springs, Colo., now part of University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
- Julia Ray Work (deceased), Colorado Springs, Colo., BS Nursing '13 from Beth-El College of Nursing & Health Sciences, now part of University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.
The University of Colorado Denver is one of three campuses in the University of Colorado system. Located in Denver and Aurora, Colo., the center includes schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry, a graduate school and a teaching hospital. For more information, visit the Web site at www.uchsc.edu.