Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, has been involved in
the education of nurses since the early 1940s, when the Newark and
Camden campuses offered courses in public health nursing. The nursing
program at the Newark Campus, located in Ackerson Hall, was established
in 1952 with funds allocated by Governor Alfred E. Driscoll.
In 1955, the School of Nursing received accreditation by the National
League for Nursing. On March 6, 1956, the School of Nursing became the
College of Nursing. Ella V. Stonsby, first director of the School of
Nursing, was appointed the first dean of the college.
Supported by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, a
program of graduate study at the master's level in psychiatric nursing
was established in 1955; in 1974, master's programs in community health
nursing, parent/child nursing, and medical/surgical nursing were added.
A doctor of philosophy program in nursing was approved by the New
Jersey Board of Higher Education in 1989.
