School of Nursing - The Chang School - Ryerson University

NURSING EDUCATION AT RYERSON UNIVERSITY
VISION AND MISSION
Vision. Leading collaborative baccalaureate nursing education in Ontario. Leading the development and
advancement of knowledge and research for practice and education.
Mission. We are committed to preparing nursing leaders who are highly competent, knowledgeable and
who play an integral role in shaping our health care future. We are committed to building upon our
reputation for excellence by creating and delivering innovative, accessible baccalaureate nursing, and
advanced practice education. We support an environment that respects differences, encourages inquiry,
promotes the discovery of the human lived experience, and champions social justice. We engage in the
scholarship of teaching, discovery, integration, and application to further excellence in nursing practice,
education and leadership.
RECENT NAMING
The University named its School of Nursing in honour of Daphne Cockwell, recognizing her family’s
ongoing support for Ryerson and its Master Plan development. Jack Cockwell, Group Chairman of
Brookfield Asset Management, is a Member of the Ryerson University Board of Governors. His family
has made lifetime contributions of $11.5 million to the University, including a recent gift of $5 million
directed to the School of Nursing.
The Daphne Cockwell School of Nursing is named after Mr. Cockwell’s mother, who started her career as
a nurse. This is Canada’s first university nursing school to be named for a nurse. Daphne Cockwell
trained as a nurse in East London, South Africa in the 1930s, and later worked as a volunteer with
veterans returning from the Second World War.
Jack Cockwell is Group Chairman of Brookfield Asset Management. He was re-appointed to the Ryerson
Board of Governors in 2005 and was appointed Vice Chair from 2006-07, having previously served on the
Board from 1995 to 2001. He serves in a voluntary capacity for a number of community organizations
including as a Governor of the Royal Ontario Museum, and a Directors of the C.D. Howe Institute and
Waterfront Toronto Corporation. He also Chaired the Building Fundraising Committee for The G.
Raymond Chang School of Continuing Education at Ryerson University.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE POST DIPLOMA DEGREE
PROGRAM
In 1964, Ryerson became the first post-secondary general education institution in Canada to offer a
diploma nursing program. Based on recommendations from the Rowles' (1963) study (as cited in Allen &
Reidy, 1971), the program was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of offering a nursing program in a
general education setting, as opposed to the typical hospital setting.
The success of this program proved Ryerson's ability to provide unique and innovative nursing education.
The program was also the subject of an ongoing evaluation study (Allen & Reidy, 1971) that reinforced
Rowles' (1963) original recommendations, but paved the way for changes in the nursing educational
system. When the provincial government transferred responsibility for nursing diploma programs to the
Ministry of Colleges and Universities in 1973, the Schools of Nursing from The Wellesley Hospital,
Women's College Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children joined Ryerson's nursing school. The
amalgamated school offered a diploma nursing program curriculum until 1988.