First graduating class returns
Cizik School of Nursing hosts 50-year reunion
Nine members of UTHealth Houston’s first class of nurses visited their alma mater on Nov. 13 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their graduation.
Cizik School of Nursing Dean Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, ACRN, PHNA-BC, FAAN, greeted the group at a luncheon organized by UTHealth Houston’s Alumni and Volunteer Engagement team. Santa Maria credited the group’s success with the school’s initial accreditation, which it has maintained for five decades.
A highlight of the event was a tour of the building – a far cry from the parking garage office space where the Class of 1974 took their first courses. The year 86 of them earned their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees, the nursing school moved from the Hermann Professional Building Annex to the Houston Main Building, where it remained until the school’s current home was constructed in 2004.
The original alumni also participated in the rededication of a time capsule that had been opened in 2022 – the 50th anniversary of the school’s founding and their enrollment. Each received a folder containing the 50th anniversary edition of Cizik Nursing magazine, a graduation photo, and a copy of the late Dr. Dorothy Otto’s 1972 directory containing photos of faculty, staff, and students. In addition, Santa Maria presented each with a Florence Nightingale stamp from Otto’s extensive collection and a commemorative nursing pin.
The group shared memories of their school days and of nursing careers spanning decades, from working with world-famous heart surgeons in the Texas Medical Center to delivering three generations of babies in the same families. They recalled their curriculum included a course on nursing and the women’s movement, a hallmark of the early 1970s.
“One thing we learned here is that nurses can do anything,” said alumna Jennifer Trotter.
The Class of 1974 also expressed keen interest in supporting and nurturing the next generation of nurses.
“I was honored to spend time with these trailblazing nurses,” Santa Maria said. “Their dedication and enduring passion for nursing is truly inspirational.”
Alumni attending the event were:
- Happy Barnes (who traveled from Portland, Ore.)
- Sally Brown
- Ruth Eckman
- Lauren Green
- Liz Lewis
- Dianne Morton
- Martha Jane Potina
- Jennifer Trotter
- Brenda Wilson