University of Virginia Library

At a meeting of the Nursing School Advisory Committee, with all members present
this morning, it was unanimously agreed that the plan of reorganization of the
Department of Nursing as a separate School of Nursing with the arrangements which we
have discussed previously, be recommended to you and to the Board of Visitors. To be
more specific, we should like to recommend that the Department of Nursing become The
University of Virginia School of Nursing, with a separate dean and with full academic
status as a separate school within the University. It would be understood that in
academic matters the School of Nursing would have complete autonomy, but that in
administrative matters effecting the Medical Center, the Dean of the School of
Nursing would answer to the Director of the Medical Center (the Dean of the Medical
School).

It was the opinion of the Advisory Committee that this arrangement would recognize
the academic equality of the Nursing School Faculty, would enjance the stature of the
School and would recognize the already existing independence of the structure of the
Department of Nursing as regards registration, admissions and curriculum matters,
but at the same time that administrative matters concerning the operation of the
hospital and the medical school as well would be under the direct control of the
Director of the Medical Center. I might add that this general type of arrangement has
been in operation in a number of other schools and has been found satisfactory in
general.

I had planned to discuss this matter with Mr. Vaughan at the earliest opportunity,
but he is out of town at present. I shall let you know as soon as I have had an
opportunity to talk with him, what his feeling about the arrangement proposed is.

The Committee also felt that it would be unwise to proceed with active search
for a Head of the School of Nursing until the question of organization has been
settled, but they expressed a desire to do this as rapidly as possible.