A Brief History Of The Duke University School Of Nursing

Ninety years ago, on January 2, 1931, the Duke University School of Nursing opened its doors to its first class of 24 students. Only a year earlier, Dean Bessie Baker, RN, moved to Durham to lead the new nursing school and to also become head of Nursing Services for the new Duke Hospital. Baker served as dean, instructor, recruiter, and hospital liaison at Duke University. Ann Henshaw was the first instructor. The school has offered many different degrees over the years. The first students, all high school graduates, received a diploma after a three-year program that cost just $100 per year. In 1938, the school began offering baccalaureate degrees to students who had completed two years of college along with the nursing curricula.