[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 27]
[Senate]
[Page 36123]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




            50TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ORVIS SCHOOL OF NURSING

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, as the Senate finishes its business for the 
year, it is my privilege to rise today in recognition of the 50th 
anniversary of the Orvis School of Nursing at the University of Nevada, 
an important part of Nevada's health care community.
  The beginnings of the Orvis School are humble. During a brief 
hospitalization in Reno, Arthur Orvis, a stockbroker and Nevada 
resident, noticed the lack of student nurses and began to wonder about 
the educational opportunities for health care providers in Nevada. On 
December 15, 1955, in a letter to University President Minard W. Stout, 
Orvis wrote, `` I desire to give $100,000 to the University of Nevada 
for the establishment of a department to be known as the `Orvis School 
of Nursing.' This is a free will offering with no strings attached.''
  As a result of this generosity, the Orvis School of Nursing was 
founded by Arthur and Mae Orvis at the University of Nevada in 1957. 
When the Orvis School opened its doors in the fall of that year, there 
were 12 students and 5 faculty members. Unusual for the time period, 
the Orvis School's first class was very diverse, including one African-
American student, one male student, one Asian-American student, and 
nine white female students.
  The Orvis School of Nursing has come a long way from that first class 
of 12 students. Today, a wide group of students attend a world-class 
institution that offers the highest quality of nursing education. While 
traditional nursing programs focus only on hospital nursing, the Orvis 
School is distinctive in that it offers a bachelor's of science degree 
in nursing, emphasizing nursing leadership, community health, and 
nursing research. I confidently believe that this unique focus will 
lead to greater innovations and ideas for the future of health care.
  In closing, I extend my most sincere gratitude to the Orvis School of 
Nursing, its alumni, and greater community. Nevadans are fortunate to 
have such a talented and skilled institution in our State.

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