A Timeline of Firsts and Other Milestones
1948: Nursing major is first introduced at the University of Miami.
1950s: Department of Nursing established in the College of Arts and Sciences.
1956: First ten students graduate under department chair Dora Eldredge Blackmon, who also introduces a “team nursing” class in local hospitals to improve response times and triaging of patients needing the most urgent help.
1968: Nursing moves from the College of Arts and Sciences to its own school.
1970: Gwendoline MacDonald is appointed the UM School of Nursing’s first dean.
1976: The Master of Science in Nursing program is established.
1978: The school establishes one of Florida’s first midwifery programs.
1985: The Ph.D. in nursing program is launched.
1992: When Hurricane Andrew strikes, the school starts a nurse-managed primary care clinic in the devastated region of South Dade.
2003: Nilda (Nena) Peragallo Montano is appointed dean.
2004: Bachelor of Science in Health Science degree added, and school’s name is changed to the School of Nursing and Health Studies (SONHS).
2005: Nurse Anesthesia and Acute Care master’s degree programs, as well as global studies programs in Chile and Haiti, introduced.
2006: SONHS moves into newly constructed 53,000-square-foot M. Christine Schwartz Center for Nursing and Health Studies and receives full accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
2007: SONHS launches the Center of Excellence for Health Disparities Research: El Centro with a $7 million-plus, five-year grant from NIH/NIMHD, the first P60 center grant ever awarded to a nursing school (renewed 2012-2017).
2008: Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing 12-month program introduced to meet the growing nursing shortage.
- SONHS designated Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Collaborating Centre for Nursing Human Resources Development and Patient Safety (redesignated 2012, 2016, and 2020).
2009: SONHS implements one of the nation’s first executive-style M.S.N. to D.N.P. degree programs.
2010: UM and SONHS play key roles on the Committee on the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Initiative on the Future of Nursing, at the Institute of Medicine, which releases the landmark report, “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.”
2011: CCNE reaccredits bachelor’s, master’s, and D.N.P. program for maximum terms.
- After Haiti’s devastating 2010 earthquake, SONHS is funded by NIH/NIMHD to enact culturally adapted educational program to train health care professionals in Cap-Haitien identify and treat mental health patients.
- SONHS introduces South Florida’s first Bachelor of Science in Public Health degree program.
2012: SONHS hosts first U.S. appearance of Pan American Nursing Research Colloquium, drawing nearly 1,000 nursing professionals and students from 40 countries to Greater Miami.
2014: SONHS launches Florida’s first B.S.N.-D.N.P. in Nurse Anesthesia.
- SONHS mourns the loss of Marie Elia Chery, who joined the school in 2003 to help strengthen ties with Haiti and its nurses through clinical practice experiences there.
2015: SONHS stages first-of-its-kind Ebola disaster preparedness simulation.
- SONHS mourns passing of philanthropist R. Kirk Landon, whose contributions helped build the Schwartz Center for Nursing and Health Studies and contributed significantly to the Simulation Hospital development campaign.
- SONHS and Guyana’s Ministry of Health establish capacity building project for nurse educators in Guyana with inaugural 26-student cohort.
2016: SONHS public health program teams with UM engineering to conduct health surveys, test ground water, and connect sewer lines in rural Ecuador.
2017: Dean Cindy L. Munro, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, FAAN, FAANP, FAAAS, takes the helm of SONHS just weeks before Hurricane Irma’s September arrival.
- Soon after the hurricane hits, Dean Munro presides over the official opening of the school’s 5-story, 41,000-square-foot Simulation Hospital and its inaugural simulation symposium.
- SONHS signs a collaborative exchange agreement with leadership at Clínica Unión Medica hospital in the Dominican Republic.
2018: Over 100 attend SONHS 70th anniversary celebration during Alumni Weekend and Homecoming.
- SONHS Office of Student Services launches the PEERS Ambassador program to support current, incoming, and prospective students.
- NIH/NIMHD awards SONHS a $6.8 million grant to create CLaRO, the Center for Latino Health Research Opportunities to advance the health disparities research of emerging scientists focused on the most vulnerable members of Latino communities.
- The Council on Education for Public Health accredits the school’s B.S.P.H. degree for maximum term.
2019: SONHS M.S.N. and D.N.P. programs both jump to No. 28 ranking nationally in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools 2020.
- COA renews B.S.N.-D.N.P. Anesthesia Track program accreditation for maximum 10-year term.
- In the first course of its kind held on a college campus, Humanitarian U transforms SONHS into a simulated disaster zone to educate would-be aid workers.
- Dean Munro presents the school’s Strategic Plan in alignment with UM President Julio Frenk’s Roadmap to Our New Century.
2020: In honor of the World Health Assembly designating 2020 the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, SONHS joins the Nursing Now and Nursing Now USA campaigns, launches a nurse leader lecture series, and hosts a leadership development program for early-career nurses in honor of Florence Nightingale’s 200th birthday.
2021: SONHS reveals its Ever Brighter campaign initiatives.
- BSN-to-DNP tracks for Family Nurse Practitioner, Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, and Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner are introduced.
- The school’s Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accreditation is renewed for 10 years.
- Nursingeducation.org ranks SONHS a Top 30 best nursing school nationwide.
2022: Already the only U.S. institution to host the Pan American Nursing Research Colloquium, SONHS becomes the only institution anywhere to host the event twice.
- SONHS welcomes Dr. Hudson Santos as the inaugural Dolores Chambreau Endowed Chair in Nursing.
- SONHS ranks No. 29 nationwide in the 2022-23 edition of U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges” Best Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Programs.
- SONHS DNP program ranks 27th and MSN program ranks 29th in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Grad Schools 2023” edition (published 2022).
- SONHS establishes new global partnerships in Spain, Brazil, and Bolivia.
2023: SONHS celebrates its 75th Anniversary of Excellence with activities throughout the year and a 150-page 75th anniversary commemorative coffee table book.
- SONHS makes UM history with an unprecedented $23.57 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to join the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. Hudson Santos, the Miami-ECHO’s lead PI, is named Vice Dean for Research Affairs at SONHS.
- SONHS makes its first entry into the Top 20 for NIH funding to nursing schools, ranking 16th nationwide for the fiscal year.
- S.H.A.R.E. earns INACSL Healthcare Simulation Standards Endorsement, 2023-26.
- A joint Master of Science in Leadership (MSL) / Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree is launched with the Miami Herbert Business School.
- Tatiana Perrino becomes the inaugural Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging at SONHS.
2024: On June 1, Hudson Santos, PhD, RN, FABMR, FAAN, is installed as Dean, succeeding Cindy Munro and becoming the first male appointed to this role in the school’s history.
- Renowned public health expert Dr. Sandro Galea speaks at SONHS in honor of National Public Health Week.
- Faculty, students, and staff from SONHS and S.H.A.R.E. play a key role in the UM-led Operation Phoenix, a multi-agency mass casualty incident.
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