Colleen Conway-Welch

Colleen Conway-Welch (April 26, 1944 – October 12, 2018) was an American nursing and public health advocate. She served as Dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) from 1984 to 2013 and on President Ronald Reagan's Commission on the HIV Epidemic.

Biography

Conway-Welch was born in Monticello, Iowa, and was the oldest of three sisters. Her mother was a teacher and her father was a farmer who went on to work in construction. His career required the family to constantly move to his latest project.[1][2][3]

Conway-Welch entered Georgetown University School of Nursing at age 16 on a full scholarship. She earned degrees from Georgetown, Catholic University School of Nursing, and New York University, where she received her doctorate.[1][2][3]

Conway-Welch began her career as a labor and delivery staff nurse at Georgetown University in the 1960s. She also worked in Honolulu, in emergency rooms in San Francisco, and as a midwife. In the early 1980s, she was asked to run the midwifery program at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver.[1][2][3]

VUSN

In 1984, Conway-Welch was asked to be VUSN's dean. At the time, the school had only around 100 baccalaureates, a small number of master's graduates, and no doctoral program. She overhauled the curriculum, introducing an accelerated master's program. Under her leadership, VUSN started its Doctor of Philosophy program in 1993 and its Doctor of Nursing Practice program in 2008. One of the largest nursing schools in the country, VUSN also earned a top national ranking. Conway-Welch retired in 2013 and was named Dean Emerita by VUSN.[1][2][3]

Personal life

Shortly after becoming VUSN's dean, Conway-Welch made a fundraising call to prominent Nashville businessman Ted Welch. They later married and went on to be fixtures in political, charity, and civic events.[3] He died in 2014; she died of pancreatic cancer in 2018.[1]

Honors

Conway-Welch was active nationally in health policy and education. She was named by President Reagan to serve on his Commission on the HIV Epidemic in 1987 and, in 2006, was nominated by President George W. Bush to serve as a member of the Board of Regents of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.[1][2][3]

In 2016, she was inducted into the Tennessee Health Care Hall of Fame and was named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing for her contributions to the nursing profession. In 2017, she was elected to the Modern Healthcare Hall of Fame.[1]

gollark: ```ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME FLAG VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE UPDATED WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE 1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate 0x002f 200 200 051 Pre-fail Always - 2 3 Spin_Up_Time 0x0027 179 171 021 Pre-fail Always - 2033 4 Start_Stop_Count 0x0032 001 001 000 Old_age Always - 168316 5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct 0x0033 200 200 140 Pre-fail Always - 0 7 Seek_Error_Rate 0x002f 200 200 051 Pre-fail Always - 0 9 Power_On_Hours 0x0032 079 079 000 Old_age Always - 15354 10 Spin_Retry_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0 11 Calibration_Retry_Count 0x0032 100 100 000 Old_age Always - 0 12 Power_Cycle_Count 0x0032 098 098 000 Old_age Always - 2564192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 320193 Load_Cycle_Count 0x0032 088 088 000 Old_age Always - 336830194 Temperature_Celsius 0x0022 126 080 000 Old_age Always - 21196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0197 Current_Pending_Sector 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 0198 Offline_Uncorrectable 0x0030 100 253 000 Old_age Offline - 0199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count 0x0032 200 200 000 Old_age Always - 2200 Multi_Zone_Error_Rate 0x0008 200 200 000 Old_age Offline - 0240 Head_Flying_Hours 0x0032 088 088 000 Old_age Always - 8931```Wow, this disk is in a great state.
gollark: I don't see why I would want dead ones.
gollark: Certainly not to the extent that you'd expect piles of dead ones.
gollark: Maybe. Not massively more than the other brands, as far as I can tell.
gollark: Guess I'll just... continue using my incredibly dubious backup disk.

References
  1. Neysa Alund, Natalie (October 12, 2018). "Colleen M. Conway-Welch, former Vanderbilt nursing dean, dies at 74". The Tennessean. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  2. "Former Dean Colleen Conway-Welch has died". Vanderbilt University School of Nursing. October 12, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  3. Dobie, Bruce (January 1, 2004). "Nashvillian of the Year: Colleen Conway-Welch, Dean of Vanderbilt University Nursing School". nashvillescene.com. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
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