Positions of associate deans for Academics, Research and Practice established
1985
BSN degree begins phase-out
Joint Center for Nursing Research opens
Gov. Lamar Alexander appoints Conway-Welch to Tennessee State Board of Nursing
1986
Pre-Specialty Bridge-to-MSN introduced; graduates receive the master’s degree as first professional degree
MSN curriculum refines to 39 semester hours
1987
Senior-Year-in-Absentia program begins with undergraduate liberal arts institutions.
1988
First Pre-Specialty to MSN class graduates
President Reagan appoints Conway-Welch to National Commission on the HIV Epidemic
1989
Last BSN degrees awarded
Joint MSN/MBA program begins with Owen School of Management
$1 million donated to endow the Independence Foundation Chair for Nursing Education
1990
Vine Hill inner city primary care clinic opens
Rural primary care clinic opens in Stanton, Tenn.
Julia Eleanor Blair Chenault Chair in Nursing created
National League of Nursing grants full eight-year reaccreditation to Pre-Specialty (bridge) and MSN program
1991
First Biomedical Research Support Grant received by Judy Ozbolt
1992
First MSN/MBA student, Anna Chalfant O’Neal, graduates
Conway-Welch joins the Healthcare Leadership Council Board of Trust
Hearst Foundation commits $100,000 to endow a minority scholarship fund
VUSN receives $150,000 from DHHS Division of Nursing to initiate PhD program
1993
PhD program admits first class
Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation awards first student nursing scholarship
1994
Nurse-Midwifery program receives $100,000 grant to establish women’s health practice with support from Gov. Ned McWherter
1995
Patricia and Tommy Frist give funding to build Patricia Champion Frist Hall
Fall Hamilton school-based clinic opens
1997
Patricia Champion Frist Hall completed
Conway-Welch named to Institute of Medicine of the National Academy
of Sciences
First PhD student, Kuei-Ru Chau, graduates
VUSN becomes only school approved by the Pentagon for Air Force Academy graduates to earn MSN degree
VUSN enters field of distance education with synchronous and asynchronous learning methods
1998
House Speaker Newt Gingrich appoints Conway-Welch to National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare
1999
Pre-Specialty (bridge) and MSN program receive eight-year accreditation from National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission
East End Women’s Health and Birthing Center opens in East Nashville
2000
VUSN sponsors International Nursing Coalition for Mass Casualty Education
Betsy Weiner, PhD, RN-BC, FAAN, named to the newly established position of Senior Associate Dean for Educational Informatics
VUSN receives Division of Nursing five-year grant to expand community primary care clinics
2001
Nancy and Hilliard Travis endow the Nancy and Hilliard Travis Professor of Nursing Chair; Conway-Welch named to chair
2002
National Center for Emergency Preparedness established
The National Institutes of Health/National Center for Research Resources awards $1.3 million to renovate Godchaux Hall
2003
Vanderbilt ranks 12th among private Schools of Nursing in NIH funding
First employer-based, nurse-practitioner-run primary care clinic opens at Sanford Corporation in Lewisburg, Tenn.
West End Women’s Health Center opens with nurse-midwifery practitioners
2004
VUSN partners with Fisk and Lipscomb Universities to offer pre-specialty nursing curriculum leading to a undergraduate degree given by their home school
Postdoctoral program begins
2005
Frist Nursing Informatics Center opens in Frist Hall
VUSN receives federal grant to establish a local Medical Reserve Corps
Faculty Practice begins “Vandy Calls” for nurse practitioner house calls to frail elderly
Two primary care clinics open at employer sites at Maryville and Dickson, Tenn.
Martha Rivers Ingram Chair in Nursing created
2006
Godchaux Hall completes renovation
President George W. Bush appoints Conway-Welch to Board of Regents position of the Federal Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Bonnie Pilon receives grant to expand house calls program across Davidson and Wilson counties
VUSN addresses nursing faculty shortage by offering a PhD in Nursing Science through distance learning format
2007
VUSN ranked 19th in top nursing schools by U.S. News and World Report
Nursing Annex renovation completed
Vine Hill Community Clinic becomes a Federally Qualified Health Care Center
Vine Hill Clinic doubles in size to serve additional populations
2008
VUSN celebrates its Centennial
Doctor of Nursing Practice Program begins
VUSN receives full eight-year re-accreditation for the MSN program from National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission
2009
Modern Healthcare names Conway-Welch to Top 25 Women in Healthcare
Distance Learning extended to virtual reality environment of Second Life through $1.6 million HRSA grant
Betsy Weiner receives $1.3 million from HRSA to deliver faculty development in informatics, simulation and telehealth
2010
First class of DNP students graduate
VUSN receives Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation grant for Vanderbilt Program in Interprofessional Learning
Nursing Clinical Simulation Skills Lab becomes Laerdal Medical Corp. Center of Educational Excellence
2011
VUSN partners with the School of Medicine and Peabody College of Education and Human Development to offer a new Master’s degree in Health Professions Education
2012
U.S. News and World Report ranks VUSN 15th in graduate nursing school rankings
VUSN opens faculty practice at the Clinic at Mercury Courts, serving homeless and people with transitional housing