For the Gazette

CEDARVILLE — A new school year means new milestones, especially for the Cedarville University School of Nursing, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

As part of the celebration, the school of nursing will host a special alumni event during homecoming weekend 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. The celebration will honor the program’s founding professors: Dr. Irene Alyn, Dr. Lois Baker, Dr. Jan Conway and Mark Klimek. Klimek is currently an associate professor of nursing at Cedarville, while the other three have retired.

Alyn, along with other administrators, began the nursing program in 1982, and the first graduating class of 30 students received the first Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees from Cedarville College in 1985. The nursing program is now the school of nursing and has tripled its size since 1985. This past May, 98 nursing graduates received diplomas. Over the last 30 years, the school of nursing has graduated 1,705 academically strong and well-prepared baccalaureate nurses.

Karen Callan, director of the school of nursing laboratory programs and facilities, was a member of the first graduating class in 1985. She has been teaching labs, instructing students in the clinical and simulation setting for 23 years and has witnessed first-hand how God has blessed Cedarville University’s BSN program.

“When I look back at the past 30 years, I realize just how large our program has become,” Callan said. “God has given us the capability, faculty and state-of-the-art facilities to continue to run a quality program that remains consistent with our mission to use nursing as a ministry for Christ.”