From 1955 to 2025: The story (so far) of Boise State Nursing

This academic year, the School of Nursing celebrates its 70th anniversary. From the first class of ten students to its current nationwide enrollment, discover a snapshot of the School of Nursing's past seven decades of nursing excellence.

The early years

The school's history traces back to Episcopal Bishop James Bowen Funsten in the early 1900s. Combined with clinical training at St. Luke's Hospital, Bishop Funsten launched nursing education at St. Margaret's school for girls. St. Margaret's eventually evolved to become Boise Junior College in 1932.

By the early '50s, there was a nursing shortage to address and a concern that nursing practice required greater academic preparation. A dedicated nurse and advocate for education, Florence Miles played a pivotal role in transitioning the diploma nursing program at St. Luke's Hospital to Boise Junior College.

With a class of ten students, Boise Junior College's nursing program began in 1955. At first, students completed a three-year program for their associate degree. But this quickly switched to a two year model that was a more appropriate timeframe for students to complete their studies.

Florence Miles (back row, far right) served as the director of the nursing department from 1955-1974, when she transitioned to serve as faculty until her retirement. She is pictured here with student nurses in 1955-56.

Faculty snapshot: Barbara Eno

Barbara Eno was one of Boise State's first nursing instructors, teaching from 1957-1984.

"I started in nursing for…I don't know why," she recalls. "I was very shy. I didn't want to touch people. I didn't wanna be close to them."

Barbara Eno started teaching in the nursing department in 1957. She is pictured top row, second from left.

But at her core, Eno knew she wanted "to help people." She ended up being a good person for students coming into the program who were a little unsure themselves. Students found her approachable and didn't feel pressured to perform perfectly. She encouraged them that it was okay to "make your first mistake…so you can move on!"

"It was very gratifying for me to help them to feel comfortable and do a better than adequate job," Eno said.

"I think the other faculty, the ones that were [teaching in] classrooms as well as clinicals, knew that about Barb," said Carol Fountain, a '64 alum of the associates in nursing program and faculty from 1977-99. "We would kind of shift, "Let's put this student in Barb's lab because she needs that kind of encouragement.""

Nursing graduates pictured in 1965.

Eno understood what it was like to grow from an uncomfortable student to a confident nurse, and so she excelled at promoting students' growth, too.

"And that is the whole part of knowing a history," Eno said, reflecting on the school's history. "Moving forward from [it] and growing with it."

Hitting our stride: 1970s and '80s

By the 1970s and '80s, Boise State nurse educators hit their stride. Nursing was established as a full department in 1972, and Boise College became Boise State University in 1974.

1983 was the first year wearing a nursing cap is no longer required by the student dress code.

In 1975, the nursing department admitted its first cohort of registered nurse students studying to complete their bachelor's. Just one year later, it introduced a bachelor of science in nursing degree, with specialization tracks for nurse practitioner, leadership and acute care. (The on-campus undergraduate program that we know today didn't begin until 1987.)

In 1977, the nursing department moved into the newly-built science building. Although comparatively small for a rapidly growing department, faculty remember it being a lively, collaborative space.

"I loved the environment over there," said Pat Taylor, who taught from 1980-2007. "We were a family."

In 1988, Boise State adjunct professor and former St. Luke's nursing director Joanna "Jody" DeMeyer co-founded Boise State's Friends of Nursing. A philanthropic coalition of nurses, physicians, business leaders and community members, they committed to addressing the Treasure Valley nursing shortage. The group raised millions of dollars to support nursing education, student scholarships and faculty research.

Big changes for big impact: 1990s and early 2000s

The '90s and 2000s were a booming time of transition and growth. Faculty built international connections, launched community clinics that still exist today, and kept current with technological changes.

Adapting to electronic charting wasn't easy, and many nursing faculty practiced using a keyboard and mouse for the first time by playing early computer games.

Nursing faculty Nancy Otterness and Carol Fountain developed interactive learning programs for nursing students during the early 1990s, like this one featured in an issue of "Focus" magazine.

"We had the computer on a cart and at lunchtime we brought it out," said Carol Fountain. She recalls some faculty being skeptical at first, but pretty soon they were saying: "Hey, I finished lunch, can I play?"

Other faculty embraced the technology, like Pam Gehrke who designed and taught the College of Health Sciences' very first online course in 1998.

During the 2000s, faculty were full of ideas and launching a host of "little entrepreneurial things," as Barb Allerton recalls, to enrich students' education and the community's wellness. Allerton taught from 1993-2013 and cultivated international relationships with schools in China and the Netherlands, facilitating multiple study abroad experiences.

Nursing students regularly participate in community health partnerships, such as the mobile health assessments in the early 2000s.

As a result of students learning about community and population health, the Marie Blanchard Friendship Clinic sprang up in 2002. Other faculty spearheaded several health assessment efforts in southwest Idaho for migrant workers, refugees and Peruvian sheepherders, even collaborating with chemistry faculty to test for pesticide exposure.

Expanding to a new space

With all this action, it didn't take long for the school to outgrow its space in the science building. The Kissler Family Foundation - together with community members, alumni and Saint Alphonsus and St. Luke's health systems - responded generously to the need for a new nursing education facility.

In 2010, the School of Nursing moved into the 81,921 square foot Norco Building and has been there ever since.

Pictured under construction in September 2009, the School of Nursing moved into the Norco Building in 2010.

DeMeyer also ensured Bronco Nurses would be leading the charge in academics with one of Boise State's first endowed chair faculty positions. Thanks to a $3 million endowment from her estate, the JoAnna "Jody" DeMeyer Endowed Chair in Nursing began in 2006.

Also in 2006, on-campus nursing students started learning through simulation education. Simulation can seem complicated, but according to former faculty member Rosemary Macy, their earliest set-up was incredibly simple. It included:

• "a little tripod" (for recording sessions and reviewing with students during the debrief)
• "a curtain with students behind it" (for instructor observation)
• a simple manikin that had heart and lung sounds

"And that was it," said Macy, who taught from 1999-2020 and was one of the first working with the simulation team.

Pictured here in 2011, the Simulation Center keeps current on audio/visual equipment that allows faculty to observe simulations in progress and then debrief with students afterward.

The Simulation Center has come a long way since that inaugural year, earning its first accreditation in 2013. It now houses 15 manikins of various technological capabilities that are used in more than a dozen dedicated simulation rooms, each equipped with audio-visual technology for an immersive experience. Thanks to a team of six highly-trained staff and a host of faculty instructors, the Center runs more than 350 simulations each semester.

From 'One Front Door' to baccalaureate leader

In seven decades of history, perhaps the school's biggest challenge was the "One Front Door" initiative.

It launched in 2002 as a single-entry nursing program. As students advanced through each semester, they would decide what level of nursing education they wanted to finish with: a practical nursing certificate, an associates degree in nursing or a bachelor's degree in nursing.

A nursing recruitment booth spotlights the One Front Door program.

For many reasons, the initiative didn't last long. According to faculty and staff from that time, it was a "logistically massive" endeavor that "looked good on paper", but it left both students and faculty struggling.

The College of Western Idaho ended up taking over the practical nursing certificate and associates degree program, leaving Boise State to focus on training bachelor's-prepared nurses. While a complex challenge to walk away from, restructuring "One Front Door" turned out to be a better fit for both students and institutions.

These days, the school's on-campus bachelor's program is what stands out: U.S. News & World Report named it #1 in Idaho three years in a row. This same program is also the state's largest, growing in 2025 to accept 100 students every semester.

Undergraduate students in the on-campus cohort are recognizable across campus in their Bronco blue scrubs.

Nationally-recognized excellence and caring for Idaho: Late 2000s to now

Program developments

In 2008, the school began offering the RN to BS bachelor's completion program completely online. Innovative for its time, the program has been blazing trails across the country ever since it started, graduating more than 3,200 students nationwide. It is a favorite among registered nurses looking for more flexible educational options.

"I couldn't really quit work and then go to school," said Casey Seckel, 2009 alum of the program and now the chief clinical officer of Life Flight Network. "The online degree completion program really gave me the best of both worlds…It was perfect because I didn't have to be here on campus, but I still had that interaction with classmates and support of the faculty."

The school is also known for cultivating nursing leaders through multiple graduate degree programs. Graduate programs are often adapted to reflect current practice standards and industry needs; so throughout the school's history, several tracks started and sunset based on these environmental factors.

The first cohort in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program.

While the school first trained nurse practitioners in 1976 under a bachelor's completion program, in 2012, the curriculum became a master's of science program and focused on adult gerontology.

The doctor of nursing practice program began in 2013 with a focus on leadership, and these two programs became the foundation for the current BS-DNP program.

In 2024, this program launched as a reflection of industry standards for doctorally-prepared nurse practitioners and as part of the solution to the provider shortage in Idaho.

In recent years

Unsurprisingly, students enrolled in the on-campus bachelor's program in fall 2020 began their studies off campus. They described it as "a really intense experience" that dramatically improved once they were able to join their peers in-person. Alumni from those years say they learned invaluable lessons in flexibility, creativity, problem solving and tenacity.

Despite the host of complications that came with the COVID-19 pandemic, the era resulted in powerful innovation and collaboration across the Bronco Nurse family - faculty, staff, donors, local healthcare partners - to ensure students received the education they needed to succeed.

This innovation still drives our school's work today. Recent research efforts skyrocketed, faculty develop cutting-edge coursework and unique clinical models meet the needs of students and the community.

Since the first cohort launched in 1955, Boise State has awarded 10,736 nursing degrees, empowering nurses to make a difference in Idaho and beyond. Spend the year celebrating with the school as we honor the legacy of alumni, faculty, staff and community members who have shaped the story of nursing at Boise State.

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