Carolyn Ladd Widmer (January 19, 1902 – January 10, 1991) was an American

nurse educator A nurse educator is a nurse who teaches and prepares licensed practical nurses (LPN) and registered nurses (RN) for entry into practice positions. They can also teach in various patient care settings to provide continuing education to licensed ...

and

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

who served as the first dean of the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from Hart ...

School of Nursing. She held this position for twenty-five years (1942–1967).

Career and education

Widmer was born in Randolph, Vermont, on January 19, 1902. Her parents were George Ladd, a clergyman, and Mary Hamlin, daughter of Cyrus Hamlin, founder of

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( tr, İstanbul Özel Amerikan Robert Lisesi or ), often shortened to Robert, or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational Secondary ...

and president of

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

. Widmer earned her bachelor's degree from

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

in 1923. She was a member of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

. Following stints as a pathology research assistant in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and a laboratory instructor at the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont (UVM), officially the University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont. It was founded in 1791 and is amon ...

, she entered

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

School of Nursing in 1929. In late 1929, she spent several months as a public health organizer in Bogota, Colombia. After graduating as a

registered nurse A registered nurse (RN) is a nurse who has graduated or successfully passed a nursing program from a recognized nursing school and met the requirements outlined by a country, state, province or similar government-authorized licensing body to o ...

, Widmer became a head nurse in Yale New Haven Hospital. Appointed on the recommendation of Mary Beard, Widmer served as nursing school dean and nurse supervisor at the

American University of Beirut The American University of Beirut (AUB) ( ar, الجامعة الأميركية في بيروت) is a private, non-sectarian, and independent university chartered in New York with its campus in Beirut, Lebanon. AUB is governed by a private, aut ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

, from 1932 to 1938. After returning to the United States to avoid the instability brought on by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she directed the nursing refresher program at Yale New Haven Hospital in 1942.

UConn

The entry of the United States into World War II prompted a surge in demand for nurses and a scramble by the State of Connecticut to satisfy the need. Appointed by UConn president Albert N. Jorgensen on the recommendation of

Annie Warburton Goodrich Annie Warburton Goodrich (February 6, 1866December 31, 1954) was an American nurse and academic. She was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey and grew up in Hartford, Connecticut. Her grandfather was John S. Butler.Judith Schiff,Yale's first fema ...

, Widmer became the first director (and a year later, dean) of the UConn School of Nursing in August 1942. She built and continually revised the curriculum, hired faculty (the first of whom was Josephine Dolan), and worked with hospitals to establish clinical experiences for students. The school graduated its first bachelor's degree cohort in 1947 and established a

Sigma Theta Tau The Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing () is the second-largest nursing organization in the world with approximately 135,000 active members. While often referred to by nurses as simply Sigma, its official name is "Sigma Theta ...

honor society chapter in 1955. In 1949 the National Committee for the Improvement of Nursing Services ranked UConn in the top 25% of nursing schools nationwide. Widmer also laid the foundations for a graduate nursing program, launched in 1971. By the time Widmer retired, the school had grown from 13 students in 1942 to 483 students (and 38 faculty) in 1967. While dean, Widmer commuted to study at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, earning a master's degree in education in 1951.

Legacy

After retirement, Widmer remained active in the national nursing community as well as local organizations near her home in Storrs. She served nearly seven years as executive secretary for Sigma Theta Tau. She served as president of the Mansfield Historical Society, the Windham Hospital Auxiliary, and the Connecticut Nurses Association. She was a member of the State Board of Examiners for Nursing and the Connecticut League of Nursing Education. In addition to her professional service, Widmer received a Distinguished Alumna Award from Yale University (1975) and an honorary award from the Connecticut Nurses Association (1967). Opened in 2012, the Carolyn Ladd Widmer Wing of Storrs Hall (site of the nursing school) was named in her honor. The Widmer Wing is a 15,800-square-foot space built at the cost of $14 million and housing a large classroom, study hall, clinical simulation rooms, and exam rooms. The nursing school's former home was the Carolyn Ladd Widmer Building, built in 1919 originally for service as the college infirmary, from 1950 to 1996, when the building was closed and demolished. Each year, the UConn School of Nursing issues the Carolyn Ladd Widmer Outstanding Alumni Award for Leadership in Nursing.

Personal life

During her sojourn in Beirut, Widmer met Robert Widmer, whom she married on April 27, 1934. They had two sons,

Eric Widmer Dr. Eric Widmer (born in Beirut) is an American scholar and educator. He was born in Lebanon where his American mother was on the faculty of the American University in Beirut. He was educated at Deerfield, Williams, and Harvard. After finishing hi ...

and Michael Widmer. Widmer passed away in Windham on January 10, 1991. She was survived by both her sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Widmer, Carolyn Ladd American nurses American women nurses Nursing educators 1902 births 1991 deaths Yale School of Nursing alumni Wellesley College alumni University of Connecticut faculty American academic administrators American expatriates in Lebanon American expatriates in Colombia 20th-century American women 20th-century American people American women academics 20th-century American academics Nursing school deans People from Randolph, Vermont