California State University, Chico’s School of Nursing will celebrate its 60th anniversary the first weekend in May with a schedule of events highlighted by a run-walk fundraiser for a nursing student paralyzed on her way to class last year.
About 200 nursing alumni – including an alumna from the first graduating class, in 1953 – are expected to return to campus for the May 3-5 events, which will also commemorate the 25th anniversary of the founding of Kappa Omicron, the CSU, Chico chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, the international honor society of nursing.
Nursing student Marcella Wagner was in an automobile accident on Interstate 5 Feb. 9, 2012, driving to Chico from her home in Redding. To avoid another car, she swerved and her car rolled multiple times, leaving her paralyzed. Wagner was only six weeks from the due date of her first child. Her son was delivered via emergency C-section and is doing well.
To help Wagner and husband Dave Campbell with their daunting medical bills and aid in her recovery, the Run 4 Recovery 2013 is being held Saturday, May 4, at 9 a.m. The 5K run/walk will start at One Mile Recreational Area in Bidwell Park. For more information, go to http://run4recovery13.org/.
CSU, Chico nursing professor Peggy Rowberg said Wagner is planning to attend the event.
Along with registration fees for the run/walk, a silent auction will be held Sunday, May 5, at a special Kappa Omicron luncheon. All profits will be donated to the Marcella Wagner New Beginnings Fund. Anyone interested in making a donation before or after the fundraiser can contact nursing professor Peggy Rowberg at mrowberg@csuchico.edu.
The fundraiser is being sponsored by the Chico State Student Nurses Association (CNSA) and Kappa Omicron.
Run 4 Recovery 2013 packet pickups are scheduled for noon to 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 2, and Friday, May 3, on Mansion Avenue at the north side of Holt Hall, or at 8:30 a.m. before the run Saturday, May 4.
Anniversary events begin Friday, May 3, with alumni by graduating class gathering for activities. About 20 “alumni champions” volunteered to coordinate activities and contact classmates about the anniversary events.
May 3 also features a poster session showcasing research by College of Natural Sciences faculty and students Friday in Colusa Hall from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Tours of School of Nursing facilities will take place Saturday, May 4, after the Run 4 Recovery. That night alumni will gather at a dinner at the Enloe Conference Center, with special guest speaker Marla Robinson, a 1953 School of Nursing graduate.
The guest speaker for the May 5 Kappa Omicron luncheon will be Dr. Patricia Thompson, CEO of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Honor Society of Nursing. Rowberg said the 160 original inductees of Kappa Omicron in 1988 have been invited back for the occasion.
For a list of anniversary events and a brief history of the School of Nursing, go to http://www.csuchico.edu/nurs/_include/60thAnniversary.html.
The 60th anniversary events come just before National Nurses week, which is celebrated annually from May 6 through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.