Marjorie Bartak Holmes, MBA, RN
BSN ‘60 - Marjorie’s career began in Indiana as Director of Nursing at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital. She later moved to California and worked as an Assistant Director of Nursing at Providence Hospital in Oakland. She then served as Director of Nursing, and Assistant Hospital Administrator, for Patient Care Services at Kaiser Permanente in Los Angeles for 25 years. She was also an Assistant Clinical Professor at UCLA’s School of Nursing Administration Program.
Marjorie has always maintained a strong connection to MSU and Spartan Nation. After her husband, a graduate of the College of Veterinary Medicine at MSU, passed away in 1986, Marjorie established an endowed scholarship with his alma mater in his loving memory.
She has also established an endowed research faculty award in the College of Nursing, and two endowed scholarships that benefit nursing students.
Captain Constance Quigley Overby, MHR, RNBSN ‘63 - The focus of Constance’s distinguished career is in community health and women’s issues. She has led a car seat loaner program, initiated prenatal classes and AIDS education, started area-wide immunizations and served as an advocate to allow significant others into the delivery room.
She entered the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps as an officer in 1986. As Captain she became the Maternal Child Health Consultant at the Nashville Area Office, Indian Health Service where she worked to improve the health status of Native American populations.
Constance retired from the Health Resources and Services Administration as a Project Officer. During her tenure she served as a consultant with two State Health Departments, reviewed grants and performed program reviews for 85 types of HRSA health programs.
Mary Milner-Estes, MSN, RNBSN ‘64 - Mary’s career began as the Head Nurse at Pontiac State Hospital. She went on to have a successful career at the Veterans Medical Center in Battle Creek, MI where she served as Chief of the Nursing Service. There, she cared for nearly 400,000 veterans. She also served on nursing faculty at Wayne State and Michigan State Universities.
Mary held a tremendous sense of pride for MSU and was an active member in the College’s Alumni Association where she served as Treasurer for many years. She also hosted many nursing alumni gatherings in Michigan and Florida. Her accomplishments earned her the College’s 1993 Outstanding Alumni Award.
In 2007, Mary passed away after battling a long illness. Prior to her death, she established an endowed scholarship to benefit nursing graduate students and funded a faculty office in the new building.
Nola Blunk Pender, PhD, RN, FAANBSN ‘64 - Nola is Professor Emerita at the University of Michigan’s School of Nursing where she served as Associate Dean for Research from 1990 to 2001. Under her leadership, they attained the highest level of external research funding in its history. She also served as Director of the Child and Adolescent Health Behavior Research Center to foster healthy lifestyles among children, adolescents and their families.
Nola developed a Health Promotion Model that is proposed as a holistic predictive model of health-promoting behavior. Nola has served as President of the American Academy of Nursing and President of the Midwest Nursing Research Society. She has earned many awards for research, health psychology and teaching as well as the College’s 1972 Outstanding Alumni Award. Nola is currently a Distinguished Professor at Loyola University of Chicago where she teaches nursing theories and scientific writing.
Angie Datz Strawn, MSN, RNBSN ‘65 - Angie is the Associate Dean for the College of Nursing at the University of Phoenix. She is responsible for new program development and working with state regulators and Boards of Nursing to gain programmatic approval.
Over the past 15 years she has held various positions at the University of Phoenix starting from administrative staff to Campus College Chair for Nursing and Health Sciences. She also served as the Chair of the College of Education at the Sacramento campus to help launch teacher credentialing programs.
In addition, Angie has worked as a high school health and safety instructor for over 25 years. She has developed seminars on HIV for Health Educators and plays an active role as an instructor trainee for the American Red Cross teaching CPR, Standard First Aid, and Basic Aid Training instructor classes.
Angie remains connected to the College and many of our faculty. Most recently, Angie made a financial commitment to fund a research workstation in the new building.
Sharon Ensfield Buursma, MBA, RNBSN ‘65 - Sharon has held several positions throughout her career including Staff Nurse in the ICU as well as Coronary Care and Intensive Care Nurse. She was the President/Chief Executive Officer of the Visiting Nurses Services and after its merger with Spectrum Health, she was appointed Executive Vice President. In retirement, Sharon has continued to demonstrate her dedication by currently serving as the Director of Development at Visiting Nurse Foundation.
Sharon believes that behind every great University are active and engaged alumni and she proudly serves as the President of the Nursing Alumni Association. She has provided financial support to fund a research workstation in THE BOTT BUILDING for Nursing Education and Research and also engaged her fellow alumni board members in funding a workstation as well.
Linda Tanner Strodtman, PhD, RNBSN ‘67 - Linda is an Assistant Professor and Clinical Nurse Specialist at the University of Michigan. Her research program focuses on palliative and end of life care as well as 19th and 20th century American nursing. She has produced films on "Good Death” practices that highlight patient and family comfort, pain management, sense of completion and preparation for death.
Linda is co-founder, archivist and past President for The Nursing History of The University of Michigan. She is a member of the Ann Arbor Doll Collectors and shares her personal artifacts of 100 dolls of famous nursing figures. Because of her commitment and belief in the importance of nursing scholarly activity, she has provided financial support to fund a research workstation in the new building.
Jean Sharts Davis, PhD, RNBSN ‘67 - Jean is the Assistant Dean for Adult Health and Director of the Doctoral and Post-Doctoral Programs at Wayne State University College of Nursing.
Jean is making her mark of excellence in advancing Doctoral Nursing Education in the state of Michigan. Jean has played a critical role in establishing Wayne State University as one of the first colleges in the state to establish a Doctorate of Nursing Practice program. Through her efforts she will directly help to address the faculty nursing shortage.
She has taught professional socialization and research in nursing courses. Her area of research is sleep disruption in vulnerable populations with a special focus on the sleep of women. She currently studies non-pharmacological interventions and their effects on disrupted sleep patterns.
Sandra McKinney Truesdell, MSN, RN, CNSBSN ‘68 - Sandra is a Clinical Nurse Specialist in Pulmonary Rehabilitation with the Henry Ford Health System. She has been a CNS for more than 25 years and has started a number of programs for patients with respiratory problems. She holds RN licensures in both Michigan and Ontario, Canada.
She developed an educational program at the College of Nursing entitled, "Asthma: Improving Outcomes through Collaboration.” The program provides registered nurses with an overview of current asthma care with an emphasis on collaboration between nurses, other healthcare professionals, patients and families.
Sandra believes that communication is essential to efficient patient care and successful healthcare treatment cannot be achieved without proper channels of communication. Through this online educational offering, Sandra assists healthcare professionals to work better with one another while positively impacting patient safety and treatment.
Susan T. Havens-Lang, MSN, RNBSN ‘69 - Susan is the Director of Clinical Services at United Hospice of Rockland in New City, New York. She administers services to approximately 135 patients per day and oversees nursing care, social work, spiritual care, bereavement, volunteers and home health aides.
Susan began her career as a Critical Care Nurse where she worked at the University of Michigan Medical Center and the Hackensack Medical Center in New Jersey. After 10 years in these roles, her nursing passion led her to a career move into community health and hospice. Susan has held CEO, DON and other executive and staff positions at six different certified home health and hospice agencies over a 25 year period.
Susan is a licensed nurse in New Jersey, New York and Michigan. In 1994, Susan received the Outstanding Alumni Award from the College and recently, made a financial commitment to fund a research workstation in the new building.
Louise Conyers Selanders, EdD, RN, FAANBSN ‘69 - Louise currently serves as the Director of the Master’s Program in the College. She passionately believes that the history of nursing offers answers to current and future issues of nursing education, practice and research. She co-authored the award winning volume, Florence Nightingale Today: Healing, Leadership, Global Action, and has been internationally recognized as a nurse historian.
Louise has also been teaching the London study abroad program for 14 years. During the summer course, she identifies the origins of modern nursing and compares and contrasts the current status of nursing in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Louise’s commitment to the College extends beyond the education she received and a professional affiliation that has spanned more than 30 years. She has made financial investments in our future for 20 years and is a recognized benefactor of a research workstation in the new building.
David Williams, PhD, RN, ARNPBSN ‘69 - David is Professor Emeritus of Nursing from the University of Florida. Following completion of a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction, he became a Robert Wood Johnson Faculty Fellow in Primary Care at the University of Maryland. Certified as a Pediatric Nursing Practitioner, David established the MSN Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Program at the University of Florida.
As a Practitioner, David served the child health needs in a rural community in Florida. During his career he held a number of offices including the President of the Alachua County Coordinated Child Care Organization, President of the Florida League for Nursing, and board member and Treasurer of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculty.
David has authored numerous computer assisted instruction programs, and his publications include textbook chapters, a review book, scholarly papers and research. David received the 1997 College of Nursing Outstanding Alumni Award for his exemplary record of education.
Nancy King Reame, MSN, PhD, FAANBSN ‘69 - Nancy is a national leader and advocate for women’s health and reproductive research. She is one of a small number of nurses elected to the Institute of Medicine – the country’s highest honor bestowed in medical science.
As a PhD-prepared reproductive neurobiologist, Nancy’s research has spanned an array of primate and clinical studies focused on one of the early "mini-pill” steroid contraceptives, the neurobiology of ovulation and menopause, and such disorders as PMS, and female infertility, as well as the bioethics of assisted reproductive technologies and long-term quality of life after surrogate pregnancy.
As a Professor and leader of the PhD program in Nursing at Columbia University in New York, she trains students to become nurse-scientists in interdisciplinary research. She is a long-time contributor to the #1 bestselling book in women’s health, Our Bodies, Ourselves, which has sold more than 23 million copies world-wide.
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