Mary Ella Parish, a 1956 graduate of the first OBU nursing class, reflects on the impact Proctor and Millsap had upon her life. OBU photos by Jeremy Scott.
OBU nursing class of 2019 outside Stavros Hall.
Pictured, left to right: Dr. Melinda Millsap-Howard, Byron Burr Millsap and Katie Livingston, the children of Juanita Millsap.
College of Nursing Honors Founding Faculty, Commissions Class of 2019
August 25, 2017
The College of Nursing at Oklahoma Baptist University honored two of its founding faculty Thursday, Aug. 24. Frances Jaunita Proctor and Juanita Granger Millsap were both recognized for the impact they had on the college with the unveiling of a plaque in Stavros Hall.
The College held a special ceremony in the lobby of Stavros Hall on the OBU campus. A plaque was unveiled featuring both Proctor and Millsap, detailing their lives and impact on the study of nursing at OBU.
Proctor began her nursing education in 1941 at Wesley Hospital in Oklahoma City. She later completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Western Reserve University and earned a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Chicago. She joined OBU as an instructor in 1952 and was among those responsible for the development of the first collegiate program for nursing education in Oklahoma. In 2011, she was inducted into OBU’s Faculty Hall of Fame. She served 34 years on Bison Hill.
Millsap was a pioneer in the formation of OBU’s School of Nursing. In 1938, she graduated from the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University with a diploma in nursing. She completed a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Battle Creek College and later returned to Case Western Reserve for graduate study. She ultimately completed a master's degree in sociology at the University of Oklahoma in 1966. She was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2000 and received an honorary Doctor of Science from OBU in September 2002.
Dr. Lepaine McHenry, dean of the College of Nursing, is proud to carry forward the legacy of Millsap and Proctor.
“We have a proud heritage here in the College of Nursing and are continuing to live out the legacy started by these women through a love for God, a love for students and a love for teaching,” McHenry said.
Earlier in the afternoon, the College of Nursing Commissioning Ceremony was held in the Craig-Dorland Theatre inside Shawnee Hall.
A total of 46 students from the College of Nursing class of 2019 participated in the ceremony, including Chinonso Alinnor, Brooklyn Bogle, Sydney Bowman, Alyssa Brimer, Jaime Brown, Blythe Bullard, Anna Burrous, Jessica Conrad, Alexandra Couch, Madeline Cravens, Macy Durham, Destiny Everett, Tiffany Gardner, Jaimie Hartley, Abigail Hicks, Adriana Holder, Kristin Holle, Hannah Hopkins, Blythe Ifland, Esther Kim, Allison Kirk, Anna Knudsen, Moriah Lamb, Alexis Langham, Kali Lowery, Garrett Luster, Megan Mauck, Sarah Morris, Anna Oliveira, Lauren Preston, Kaylynn Rackley, Alexa Richards, Katie Robinson, Hannah Rodriguez, Rose Satchwell, Mackenzie Shook, Juliana Sinclair, Jillian Smith, Laura Smith, Lindsey Stroup, Bethany VanGoethem, Kimberly Walker, Leslie White, Blaine Whitson, Samantha Willoughby and Karly Winn.