Record Accession Number: 1371
First UVA program NURS Second UVA program
Comments on UVA programs
Home town Beford County Home state VA
Comments on Home town and state
Home town classification Farm
Comments on Home town classification
High school classification Public
Comments on High school classification
Was your high school co-ed? Yes
Comments on Co-ed high school
Did you come directly from high school to UVA? Yes
Comments if not directly from high school
Important activities before coming to UVA
Comments on important activities Church and school.
If married, was it before, during, or after UVA? After
Comments on time of marriage I was on the School of Nursing faculty at U.Va. when we married, '61
Was your spouse associated with UVA? Student
Comments on spouses association with UVA
Mother's first degree B.A. Mother's first college Lynchburg College
Mother's second college Mother's second degree
Mother's third college Mother's third degree
Father's first degree Father's first college
Father's second college Father's second degree
Father's third school Father's third degree
Comments on parents' schooling
First sister's level of schooling Second sister's level of schooling
Third sister's level of schooling First brother's level of schooling
Second brother's level of schooling Third brother's level of schooling
Comments on siblings' schooling
Family members at UVA
Comments on family members at UVA Husband - CLAS, GSAS - Foreign Affairs Ph.D. '65; 2 sons - CLAS '84 and '88; Brother - ENGR - 1 yr; Brother-in-law - CLAS - '70; 3 nieces - CLAS '96; NURS '98; CLAS '00
Mother's first occupation Mother's second occupation
Mother's third occupation Father's first occupation
Father's second occupation Father's third occupation
Comments on parents' occupations
Date entered UVA Date left UVA
First other college First other concentration
First other degree First other dates of attendance
Second other college Second other concentration
Second other degree Second other dates of attendance
Third other college Third other concentration
Third other degree Third other dates of attendance
Fourth other college Fourth other concentration
Fourth other degree Fourth other dates of attendance
Fifth other college Fifth other concentration
Fifth other degree Fifth other dates of attendance
Comments on college experiences
Why did you choose UVA?
Comments on choice to attend UVA Best nursing program in Virginia and offered BSN degree.
How did you finance UVA?
Comments on financing Father paid for it mostly; I also worked part-time at Mary Washington and at U.Va. hospital.
Why did you choose your UVA concentration(s)?
Comments on choice of concentration I was interested in the health field; wanted to help others.
Description of UVA classroom experiences
Comments on classroom experiences I feel I received a sound grounding in basic nursing (my introduction to psychiatric nursing really excited me!).
Description of UVA professor interactions
Comments on professor interactions Depended on the professor - some were very warm and approachable; others I found very demanding and distant.
Who impacted your life at UVA?
Comments on life impact My psychiatric nursing professor, Nell Redmond - opened up a whole new world for me!! This became my specialty. Margaret Tyson, my dean in School of Nursing also inspired me (told us never to forget we were women first, then nurses) Also high on my list - Zula Mae Baber Bice and Betty Norris - both were kind, knowledgeable, very human and supportive.
Most memorable UVA educational experience
Comments on memorable educational experience I remember the awe and thrill of being a part of Thomas Jefferson's University. I also remember the struggle between the service needs of the hospital and our educational needs, and appreciated efforts of School of Nursing faculty to separate the two acts as advocates for us as students. (I agreed wholeheartedly with the decision in the '60s to phase out the diploma program in nursing because I felt those students were USED to staff the hospital but got no degree after 3 long, hard years.)
UVA weekend activities
Comments on weekend activities Half of them each month we spent working in the hospital as part of an arrangement for bed and board - later it was a choice given to students but not when I was there. Otherwise I went to church or Baptist Students Union activities, dates, movies, etc.
UVA extra-curricular organizations
Comments on extra-curricular organizations Main one - Baptist Student Union, as member and an officer of our council. this group provided my main social - and spiritual - outlets.
Important local, state, national, and international issues while at UVA
Comments on important issues Did not have a lot of energy/time for those, except via the guys I dated , especially the one I married!! Together we dreamed of a Foreign Service Career (for him) and I wanted to be with him and to travel, etc.
How interest in issues was expressed
Comments on how interest was expressed Married my Foreign-Service-bound fiancee and traveled with him all over the Middle-East and Europe, where we both worked in our respective fields (diplomacy for him, psychiatry for me).
UVA housing
Comments on housing dorm
Likes and dislikes about housing
Comments on likes and dislikes Great fun to be with other nursing students - to study, play cards, etc. Not much in the way of kitchen appliances for snacks, etc. Men's access to our dorm was limited to entrance area and living room, at certain times only. Also we were under strick curfew hours! With strict housemothers!!
Where were meals eaten
Comments on meal location In hospital cafeteria, (Old) Barringer Wing basement, as part of the bed-board arrangement with hospital.
Did you interact outside of UVA?
Interaction detail Mostly through church (Univ. Baptist) and one family (the lad was a former neighbor in Bedford Co.)
Memories of Charlottesville
Comments on Charlottesville memories We all loved the "Corner" - a lot was available there, then - plus restuarants to give us a respite from hospital food. I remember walking down W. Main St., past Vinegar Hill, to go downtown, esp. movies with friends.
Did you feel part of UVA community? Did you feel part of community?
Incidents that caused these community feelings We had classes (a few) on the main grounds, esp. in Education. We also attended football and basketball games, and the exciting Big Weekends when big-name bands came for "Easters" etc. I also met famous people (Robert Frost, Ralph B[?] of the U.N., John dos Passos, William Faulker, etc. (through my fiance) when they came to U.Va.
Vivid UVA memories
Comments on vivid memories It was wonderful being part of the procession and activities on the lawn at graduation. I truly felt I was a privileged person, to receive my basic degree from TJ's Univ. Yes, there definitely were women at the Univ. before college co-education! I never felt that men resented our presence - if anything, most of them seemed grateful to have our company. Of course we weren't in competition with them in any way.
Did marital status affect UVA experiences
Comments on influence of marital status I got engaged during my final semester, spring of '60. As I said earlier, this opened up many doors for me since he was President of Jefferson Society and was instrumental in bringing famous speakers to the University, etc. This continued to be true after our marriage, while he was in graduate school at the University and I was on the faculty of the School of Nursing, '61-'65.
Did cultural background affect UVA experiences
Comments on influence of cultural background As a white Virginian/Southerner, I was part of the majority -- yet we had many "Yankees"; some blacks and asians - all of whom I was interested in getting to know since that broadened my experience and outlook. There were several Middle-Eastern men in the medical school (or Residency program) who got me and my fiance interested in that part of the world (fortunately, for our later careers!). We also had international students and faculty - not many, but a nice group - all pluses.
Did UVA prepare you for post-UVA life?
Comments on preparedness I was ready to perform at a high level as nurse on the psychiatric units and as an instructor in that field in the School of Nursing. After 5 years experience here ('60-'65) I was more than ready to start master's level education and to venture abroad with my family (husband and 2 sons, both born at U.Va. Hospital).
Most significant post-UVA events
Comments on most significant event 1. Birth of 2 sons. 2. Many years of living in and dealing with Middle East crises: Arab/Israeli War in '67 - we were in Egypt then for husband's first diplomatic posting; beginning of the Civil War in Lebanon in '75 - husband was in danger there while sons and I waited nervously in Greece for him to complete his tour (8 months); Iraqi invasion of Kuwait - husband caught there as U.S. Ambassador (1990). 3. Deaths in our families: one sister and our youngest son (both in '96).
Personal factors that affected professional life
Comments on personal factors As a Foreign Service Wife, it has been a challenge to uproot and reattach my family and myself over and over as we were posted to different places. The positives include being able to teach in other cultural settings (American U. of Beirut, Amer-Community School in Abu Dhabi) and to travel a lot. But with so many moves, it has meant starting over in each place, usually at the "bottom."
Other factors affecting life after the university
Comments on other factors The years have brought an ever-widening circle of good friends - many of whom have shared the ups and downs of our Foreign Service life, either abroad or in USA. Certainly our outlooks and interests are much broader now - due to our international experiences and observations of "history-in-the-making."
First post-UVA job First job dates
Second post-UVA job Second job dates
Third post-UVA job Third job dates
Comments on post-UVA jobs
First post-UVA volunteer position First volunteer dates
Second post-UVA volunteer position Second volunteer dates
Third post-UVA volunteer position Third volunteer dates
Comments on volunteering
Do you think of yourself as a career woman?
Comments on career woman question
Barriers faced in work and volunteering
Comments on barriers question Moving so often and changing jobs have mean entry-level jobs, over and over, in many cases. Also job opportunities have been limited in some places. Balancing the demands of a growing family plus the challenges of dislocation (planned moves plus war zones) also difficult at times. U.Va. grads are appreciated, however!
Current marital status
Comments on current marital status
Current age range
Comments on current age range
Number of children
Comments on number of children One alive, one deceased.
Current employment status
Comments on employment status Homemaker plus professional volunteer!! Besides the mediation work I do at FOCUS and overseas, I am a member of the Professional Consultation Committee for the Chaplain at U.Va. Hospital, on the School of Nursing (U.Va.) Centennial Committee, and active in my church, especially the main choir. Plus I edit my husband's writings/speeches etc.
Additional comments I'd just like to underline that women at the University were a reality long before the College co-ed experience!! The College is only a part of the University, after all - an important part, true, but still only a part. The professional schools are also important parts - all together, we make the University what it is.

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