School of Nursing - University of Minnesota

SoN Graduate Celebrates A Century
alumni news
photo courtesy of the arizona republic.
photographer: mark henle.
Like her alma mater, SoN graduate Ruth
Mask turned 100 this year. “Never in my
wildest dreams did I ever think I would live
to be this age,” she told a reporter for the
Arizona Republic last January.
Mask graduated from the School of Nursing
in 1930 after completing a three-year
nursing program, which included clinical
rotations at Minneapolis General Hospital,
Miller Hospital in St. Paul, and the Glen
Lake County Tuberculosis Sanatorium.
After graduation, she worked six and a half
days a week at Minneapolis General,
earning $75 a month. During World War II,
she became one of the first women to work
in the U.S. Signal Corps. She later returned
to nursing, serving at several California
hospitals during the 1940s and early 1950s.
“I studied nursing in the days before
penicillin. Polio outbreaks were frequent,
and we cared for patients in iron lungs,”
Mask says. “Nursing has really changed
since then.”
2009 May Gatherings:
The Power of
Nursing Knowledge
School of Nursing alumni and friends
discovered the power of nursing knowledge
at this year’s May Gatherings held in the
Twin Cities, St. Cloud, Rochester, and Walker,
Minnesota. Hosted by the School of
Nursing Foundation, the popular gatherings
showcased advancements in nursing
research and innovation in patient care.
As part of the program, Dean Delaney and
SoN faculty reached out to communities
across Minnesota to learn more about their
health care needs.
"The school is a resource for the state and
provides guidance on health care in its
broadest sense,” said Dean Delaney.
“We are committed to collaborate and
partner with communities to do what it
takes to deliver health care to its citizens.”
Connie Thach, BSN ‘07
fall/winter 2009 23