School of Nursing, OHSU

The School of Nursing building, opened in 1992, is the first dedicated building for the school on OHSU's Marquam Hill campus. Prior to the construction of the school, faculty offices and classrooms were dispersed across other campus buildings, namely Mackenzie Hall and Emma Jones Hall. The building houses the school's statewide administration and many academic and research facilities.

The School of Nursing building, opened in 1992, is the first dedicated Marquam Hill campus building for the school in its history. The school grew out of several predecessor programs: the Multnomah Training School (opened 1910), the Portland School for Social Work (opened 1920), and a five-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program in the University of Oregon (initiated 1926). These programs were integrated into the University of Oregon and became the Department of Nursing Education in the University of Oregon School of Medicine (now OHSU). Prior to the construction of this building, Portland faculty offices and classrooms were dispersed across other campus buildings, namely Mackenzie Hall and Emma Jones Hall.

The groundbreaking ceremony for the long-awaited School of Nursing building took place in the spring of 1990. Dean Carol Lindeman was joined by Senator Mark Hatfield, OHSU President Peter Kohler, Chancellor Thomas Bartlett and National Center for Nursing Research Director Ada Sue Hinshaw to speak on the occasion.

The building, designed by architect Thom Hacker of Garfield, Hacker and Associates was funded by a joint effort: A federal grant of $12 million was secured by Senator Hatfield, and the State of Oregon contributed $1.825 million. A statewide capital campaign of $4.2 million provided the resources for technology and interior furnishings to make the building functional. Alumni continued their support for the building by contributing bricks for the courtyard, chairs for the auditorium, benches for the halls, and sponsorship of rooms.

When faculty and staff moved into the newly opened building in the spring of 1992, it marked the first time that Portland faculty, staff and programs in the School of Nursing would work all under one roof. Described in Architecture magazine as “quiet, site-sensitive [and] rooted in an elegant structural logic,” the building houses School of Nursing programs, faculty and staff offices, and educational space.

Dietsch, Deborah K. “Campus Order,” Architecture, December 1992: 58, 62.

Gaines, Barbara. A History of the School: 1910 - 1996. Portland, OR. OHSU School of Nursing, 2002.

OHSU School of Nursing. “Gala ‘Dirt-Shoveling’ Event!” Nursing Progress (Summer 1990): 8. Historical Collections & Archives, OHSU Library.