The School of Nursing celebrated 65 years of nursing graduates on May 3 as part of
McMaster University's 125th anniversary festivities.

The School unveiled the Henrietta Alderson Gallery of Graduates plaque to highlight the
photos of graduated nurses and classes that currently stretch down a long hallway of
the School.

Alderson is one of three founders of the nursing school. She, along with Alma Reid and
Florence Greenaway, were the core faculty members who developed the five-year
Bachelor of Science in Nursing Program (later shortened to four years).

Alderson was the driving force in ensuring students had a solid understanding of
science for the practice of nursing.

“We take great pride in the success of our graduates and it is special for us to be able to
honour each and every one of them,” said Catherine Tompkins, associate dean of health
sciences and director of the School of Nursing. “It is fitting that we are naming this wall
after Henrietta because she is an important part of our past, and I believe that only by
paying tribute to those from our past, will we truly be able to appreciate our present
and future, and how far we've come as a School.”