Pioneering in the development of the baccalaureate degree Nursing Program at Harding College have been the 48 seniors scheduled to graduate on May 15, 1977. These students have taken an active part in setting the traditions and standards of the program. They have also been involved in the self study being made as part of the procedure for obtaining accreditation by the National League of Nurses. In the spring of 1976, this class achieved mean scores that ranked at the 75th, 65th, and 50th percentiles on national norms, respectively, on the three parts of the achievement test administered by the National League of Nurses. The last test was taken at the end of the final examination period for the 1976 spring semester. At the beginning of the 1976-77 school year, 192 students indicated that nursing was their major. Of this number, 94 had been admitted to the program - 50 for the senior year and 44 for the junior year. The remaining students were taking the general education and basic science courses required for admission to the program. In December, 1976, an Honor Society in Nursing was organized to recognize leadership, scholarship and service among the nursing majors and 16 students were inducted as charter members. The Nursing Program was recommended in 1972 by the Premedical Advisory Council for the college. This Council, composed of 23 physicians from seven states, had been appointed by President Clifton L. Ganus soon after his inauguration in 1965 to study the pre-medical and allied health programs at Harding College, to advise with the natural science faculty, and to make recommendations to the administration. Pursuant to the recommendation, the administration conducted a feasibility study and then consulted the State Board of Nursing. A. Michele Warren of Detroit, Mich., was employed as chairman of the department in the fall of 1973 and she spent 1973-74 completing residence work on the doctorate at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She is currently working on a doctoral dissertation involving the Career 286 - NURSING NURSING Mobility Concept in Nursing Education. Mrs. Warren spent 1974-75 in planning a program that was initially approved by the State Board ~f Nursing in November, 1974, and in recruiting a well-qualified faculty. To facilitate the transfer of students from sister junior and senior colleges, all clinical courses were placed in the last two years with admission to the professional program occurring at the beginning of the junior year. Among the 56 students who enrolled in the first class in the fall of 1975, there were 1 O students who held a degree in other majors, seven students who had s_enior classification, seven who had ach1ev~d the R.N. in diploma programs, and six male students. Modern facilities had been provided for the Nursing Program through the complete renovation of the Old Science Hall at a cost of $700,000. The third floor of the structure was devoted to nursing. During 1974-75, $326,047 was spent on developing the program including $216,667 for renovation of the third floor, $58,000 for equipment and supplies, and $19,587 for furnishings. The operational cost for 1975-76 was $127,655, and the budgeted expense for 1976-n was $306,026. On Sept. 20, 1975, the renovated Old Science Building was dedicated and named the Olen Hendrix Building, honoring the State Senator from Prescott who had served as a member of Harding's Board since 1964. Senator Hendrix had made a substantial gift toward the renovation. The third floor devoted to nursing was designated the "Olen Hendrix Nursing Center." Over the years Senator Hendrix has sponsored legislation for improvement of health care facilities within the state and has served on the State Hospital Board. To provide registered nurses who have completed only a diploma program an opportunity for career mobility, the nursing faculty undertook the development of a Family Nurse Practitioner Program. A grant request was submitted to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Mich., for funding and, early in July, 1976, President Ganus was notified that Harding had been named the recipient of a $401,325 grant to be funded over a three-year period, July 1, 1976, through June 30, 1979, for ~he development of such a program. The grant was one of the largest of its kind ever received by an Arkansas college or university. Dr. Billy Ray Cox, Vi~e President of Harding, took the lead 1 obtaining this grant, supported by th entire Arkansas congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. Ac-
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