With more than 4,000 graduates spanning seven decades, the nursing program at Saint Anselm College is synonymous with compassion, expertise, and excellence.
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The Saint Anselm Nurse
As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of co-education at Saint Anselm College, we reflect upon the women who entered the classrooms of the college as student nurses in 1952, more than 70 years ago. We also reflect upon the visionaries who began the nursing program at the college.
This landmark co-educational endeavor was possible because of requests from two local directors of nursing, Margaret Amsbury from what is now called the Manchester Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Ruth Bagley from Elliot Hospital. Rev. Bernard Holmes, O.S.B established the program with Ruth Bagley, who became the directress of nursing.
We wonder if these three individuals, and the women who entered the classrooms in 1952, could have ever dreamed that Saint Anselm nursing would become what it is in 2024—an integral program in the Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences.
Like many professions, nursing faced growing demand after World War II. The need for more educated nurses in the U.S. became clear. In the mid 1960s, the American Nurses Association (ANA) had issued a report advocating for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) to become the standard for professional nursing practice. As the first B.S.N. program in New Hampshire, Saint Anselm College was on the crest of the wave that shifted nursing education to university-based nursing schools offering B.S.N. degrees.
The nursing profession has evolved greatly since the beginning of nursing education and co-education at Saint Anselm College. The 1950s and 1960s ushered in a period of expansion of B.S.N. education, and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) was established. The nation’s first Masters of Nursing degrees were introduced, and the first nurse practitioner program began during this time. Nurses were being recognized as having knowledge of both the science and art of nursing.
By the 1980s, we saw the development of a few Ph.D. nursing programs, the beginning of evidence-based practice, along with a sharp increase in baccalaureate nursing education. The nursing shortage was first recognized and persisted through the decade. Saint Anselm College had already graduated thousands of nurses by the year 2000, gaining recognition throughout New England for excellence in baccalaureate nursing education. As we entered the 21st century, our country moved to significantly increase diversity in nursing, developing the Doctor of Nursing Practice (D.N.P.) degree and removing scope of practice barriers.
The B.S.N. remains the cornerstone of nursing education, and the demand for B.S.N. nurses continues to grow. Evidence supports that B.S.N.- prepared nurses improve patient outcomes, reduce hospital readmissions, and contribute to safer, higher-quality care. Our 4,000-strong nursing alumni have trailblazed nursing in the areas of research, education, administration, and clinical practice throughout these seven decades to the modern day—both in our region and throughout the world—all rooted in the ethical principles inherent in our Catholic and Benedictine liberal arts mission.
Looking to the future, the newly established Jean School of Nursing and Health Sciences, another historic milestone at Saint Anselm College, is building upon our reputation for academic rigor, innovative pedagogy, a liberal arts foundation, and Benedictine values to further broaden our impact. Past and present, our graduates are deeply thoughtful, highly skilled, and able to honor the humanity in every person. The Jean School’s dedicated faculty, along with our new Grappone Hall with state of-the-art technology and learning spaces (coming August 2025), are allowing us to expand and modernize our education programs. The school also is poised to launch into graduate nursing education, with its first graduate nursing program, the M.S.N. in Leadership and Innovation, enrolling in August 2025. We have entered a new chapter in our rich history, evolving, just as the nursing profession continues to evolve—to prepare all nursing, community and public health, and health professions students to seamlessly step into the world as Anselmian leaders with unyielding compassion. The Jean School will continue to shape the future of nursing and health professions education in our region for decades to come.
Past and present, our graduates are deeply thoughtful, highly skilled, and able to honor the humanity in every person.
Trailblazers
Four alumnae share how nursing students from before the college’s historic 1974-1975 academic year, proudly helped pave the way for all Anselmian women.
As the 50th anniversary celebration of coeducation at Saint Anselm draws to a close, we would like to extend our congratulations for a thoughtful, yearlong appreciation of the impact of women on the college and the communities our fellow graduates have proudly served.
For a surprisingly large cadre of women, though, the Anselmian experience was regrettably underrepresented in the many acknowledgements the celebration provided. While our time fell outside of the 1974-2024 timeframe, as women graduates, we proudly portray the Anselmian spirit, philosophies, ethics, and commitment to our mission.
Between 1954 and 1975, 678 women (and a few men) were awarded a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. While a number of those were previously registered nurses seeking to complete an undergraduate degree, the majority were “basic” students who lived in off-campus housing and yet participated in other aspects of college life. Memorial Hall in downtown Manchester, and for our class of 1971, the nurses residence at Notre Dame Hospital housed us. Access to campus necessitated using public transportation and/or very long walks (across the Amoskeag Bridge) up the hill for early morning classes and returning to our dorms only at the end of the day. As some of us acquired cars, this became an easier trip.
Lunch or snacks at the coffee shop and studying at the library filled in the very brief time between classes. Nursing majors were there every day unless we were in in our clinical rotations. Slacks were only allowed for evening sports and social events, a rule that was relaxed when we moved on campus. We delighted in the opening of the “Nurses Dorm,” the current Joan of Arc Hall, for our sophomore second semester in January of 1969, beginning for us our true integration into on-campus life. Our male counterparts adjusted (and there were adjustments) to the now constant presence of women in their lives.
On behalf of our fellow Saint Anselm nursing graduates of those early years, we heartily join the entire college community in this joyful celebration and continue to thankfully and proudly represent, as Professor Jennifer Kelber ’01 states, the “courage, grit, determination, and compassion” of the Saint Anselmian women.
Judy Konopacke Todd ’71
Cindy Masciarelli Roche ’72
Sandra Peavoy Krafsig ’71
Carol Polifroni ’71
“While our time fell outside of the 1974-2024 timeframe, as women graduates, we proudly portray the Anselmian spirit, philosophies, ethics, and commitment to our mission.”
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JOAN OF ARC HALL
The first dormitory for women at Saint Anselm, the JOA has been called home by thousands of women since it opened in 1969. Named in honor of the Sisters of Joan of Arc, this dorm was initially built for nursing students, who were previously housed in downtown Manchester. As our nursing alumnae from the class of 1971 shared in their letter on page 27, “Access to campus necessitated using public transportation and/ or very long walks (across the Amoskeag Bridge) up the hill for early morning classes and returning to our dorms only at the end of the day … we delighted in the opening of the ‘Nurses Dorm,’ the current Joan of Arc Hall, for our sophomore second semester in January of 1969, beginning for us our true integration into on-campus life.”
