UA to Sponsor First Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Twelve people, including the first Red Cross nurse in Alabama, a Tuskegee Institute dean who initiated the state’s first bachelor’s program in nursing, and a nurse executive of the Baptist Hospital System, will be among the first class of inductees in the Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame, established by The University of Alabama Capstone College of Nursing.

The inductees, who also include former political leaders who pioneered the funding efforts for the state’s nursing programs, will be honored Thursday, Oct. 25, in a 6:30 p.m. ceremony at the NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa.

Dr. Sara Barger, dean of the UA Capstone College of Nursing and emcee of the event, said this induction ceremony begins an important tradition at The University of Alabama.

“During the last month, our country has been reminded what true heroes do – they devote their lives to serving others,” Barger said. “And while these inductees may not have directly risked their lives, they too completed heroic tasks. They, one-on-one with patients in some instances, and, indirectly, in others, have made a difference in the health and welfare of countless patients and have sacrificed much. Today, we, as individuals, our health care system as a whole, and the citizens of Alabama and the nation are beneficiaries of the wisdom, foresight and talents of these individuals.”

Members of the first class of inductees, which includes some who will be inducted posthumously, are:

Albert B. Boutwell, a former state senator and lieutenant governor who co-sponsored, along with Louis Graham Wright, a legislative bill creating the first state-supported collegiate school of nursing at UA in 1949;

Linna Hamilton Denny, the first Red Cross nurse in Alabama and the 46th in the nation, who helped bring about the licensing of nurses to protect the public;

Dr. John M. Gallalee, president of UA from 1948-1953 who launched the University’s nursing school and recruited nursing leaders who were instrumental in its early establishment and success;

Dr. Sarah Fisher Giles, the first African-American graduate from UA’s School of Nursing, who went on to earn a master of science in nursing and a doctorate, became an Army colonel, and is now a senior faculty member at Wayne State Community College in Detroit;

Howard B. Gundy, who was named academic vice president at UA in 1971, some four years after the UA School of Nursing was transferred to Birmingham, and who was instrumental in obtaining funding for a new baccalaureate program in nursing at UA, the Capstone College of Nursing, to meet the health care needs of West Alabama;

Lillian Holland Harvey, who initiated the state’s first baccalaureate degree in nursing program at Tuskegee Institute and during her stint as dean of that nursing program, influenced countless graduates who became national leaders in nursing;

Florence A. Hixson, UA’s first dean of nursing, who developed a then-fledgling undergraduate program, adding a baccalaureate program for RNs, and later a master’s program while developing sweeping statewide programs for both tuberculosis nursing education and psychiatric nursing education;

Ida V. Moffett, who was a nurse for more than 65 years spending much of that time at the executive level of the Baptist Hospital system based in Birmingham. A nursing leader in the state and nation, Moffett was director of nursing at the two units of the Birmingham Baptist Medical Centers and directed the largest school of nursing in the state;

Cindajo Pearce Overton, who accepted a position as nursing instructor at Wallace Community College in Dothan in 1970 and is credited with laying the foundation necessary for the program to become the largest nursing program in Alabama and among the largest in the nation;

Anne M. Smith, who was director of Public Health Nursing for the state of Alabama for 20 years where she established numerous new programs and services, including the home health program and the pap smear program;

George C. Wallace, who, while still a state representative, twice introduced bills in the late 1940s to create a new university-based school of nursing. The bill that ultimately passed to establish a new school at UA bore strong resemblance to Wallace’s original bill; and

Louis Graham Wright, an Alabama State Senator who, in 1949, co-sponsored, along with Albert B. Boutwell, a legislative bill creating the first state-supported collegiate school of nursing at UA in 1949.

Ruth Harrell, president of the Alabama State Nurses’ Association, will give the ceremony’s keynote address.

A gallery honoring these and future Hall of Fame inductees will be permanently located in the UA Capstone College of Nursing. Members of the College’s Board of Visitors submit nominations for induction into the Hall of Fame to the Hall’s selection committee. The selection committee reviews nominations and determines, by ballot, those to be inducted.

Editors Note: For more biographic information on any, or all, of the inductees listed below, request it from Chris Bryant using the contact info listed above.