Remember when there were only a few pathways to become a nurse?

"I am so proud to lead this extraordinary place which gathers, for a time, very special people who bring to their practice, research, care, and advocacy the lessons they learned on these Grounds, before they leave us, head out, and make the world a better place than they found it. "

Dean Baernholdt

When nursing students were almost exclusively white, female, and right out of high school? When professors used overhead projectors, printed books, and note-taking was done with paper and a pencil? 

A lot has changed. 

Nursing students today come to us from a broad spectrum of backgrounds and enter our wide variety of programs. Classes are offered in different ways: online, at satellite locations, and in intensive on-Grounds experiences. Faculty deploy courses through electronic course management systems, use e-books and simulations, and students take notes electronically.  

President Ryan and Dean Baernholdt pose with nursing students at the Starr Hill Pathways event.
Marianne Baernholdt and UVA President Jim Ryan pose with BSN students at a Starr Hill Pathways event in spring 2023.
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Baernholdt
Baernholdt during the Thomas Jefferson Society luncheon in 2023.
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Baernholdt Feggans Langston and BSN students at Westhaven nursing clinic
Baernholdt, faculty member Christina Feggans-Langston, and BSN students meet up to chat at Westhaven nursing clinic where the students are on their community health clinical rotation.
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Black Alumni Weekend
Baernholdt in April 2024 with nursing alumni during a Black Alumni Weekend event at the School.
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Marianne Baernholdt meets with CNL students
Dearn Baernholdt lectures to CNL students in prof. Richard Ridge's class.
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Beth Quatrara and Marianne Baernholdt
Baernholdt poses with assistant professor Beth Quatrara, also an alumna, at the event at which Quatrara was honored with an All-UVA Teaching Award for 2024, one of 11 UVA faculty chosen from among 2,400 for the honor.
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Baernholdt
"Whether you graduated 50 years ago or this year, the experiences UVA School of Nursing graduate have bind them to one another."
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But I’m also struck by how much remains the same.

We still teach at the bedside and in the community. We connect through touch, attentive listening, and education. And we still get excited each time our students take that storied walk down UVA’s Lawn, like the 258 nursing graduates in UVA’s great class of 2024 (including 145 brand new nurses) just did. 

Whether you graduated 50 years ago or this year, the experiences UVA School of Nursing graduates have bind them to one another. It makes no difference where you come from, what you look like, or what your belief systems are, you belong to a long tradition of excellence that is an inherent part of this School, no matter which degree you earned. 

As I write this, I’ve got fresh memories of UVA’s Black Alumni Weekend, UVA Reunions, and the remarkable individuals honored with our Alumni Association awards: Jane, Carter, Michael, and Anne. I am so proud to lead this extraordinary place which gathers, for a time, very special people who bring to their practice, research, care, and advocacy the lessons they learned on these Grounds, before they leave us, head out, and make the world a better place than they found it. 

Thank you for reading VNL. 

Be well, 

Marianne Baernholdt signature

Marianne Baernholdt, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN
Sadie Heath Cabaniss Professor of Nursing and Dean
Dean of Professional Nursing, UVA Health
she/her