Isabel Harris, first dean of U Nursing School

Her quiet determination helped to start the school and brought other changes at the University of Minnesota.

By JIM FOTI, Star Tribune

Last update: March 8, 2008 - 1:02 AM

When Isabel Harris became the first dean of the University of Minnesota School of Nursing in 1969, the university showed its gratitude by paying her substantially less than two men who were named deans at the same time.

The university's sole female regent -- and some publicity -- helped persuade the university to increase Harris' salary.

Harris never gave up on the university, and these days it has a fuller appreciation for all the change she helped bring about. Harris died Sunday at age 93 at a retirement community in Bloomington.

Born in Michigan, Harris received a bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan and graduated from the nursing school at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. She worked there and in Michigan before serving in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps from 1942 to 1946 in Australia.

She came to the University of Minnesota as a nursing lecturer in 1947 and moved her way up through the ranks. Harris was "a quieter individual who got a lot done just by being her gracious self," said Sandra Edwardson, a Nursing School professor who served as dean for 14 years.

Ruth Weise, a friend since Harris' early days on campus, described her as "very, very low key," yet a force for change. Getting the medical establishment at the university to see the value of a nursing school that would be separate from the U's Medical School and have its own dean took many years, Weise said, and Harris made a point of doing research and hiring people with vision to help the cause.

Harris served as dean from 1969 to 1975, then returned to teaching before retiring in 1981. She held both a master's degree and a doctorate from the university.

Harris also was an avid Gophers football fan, Weise said, and would attend games at Memorial Stadium with groups of friends on even the coldest days.

She maintained ties to the university even after retiring. Her volunteer work included serving as a docent at the Weisman Art Museum, said her nephew Mark Harris of Ypsilanti, Mich.

He said his aunt loved to see the world, visiting places as varied as South Korea, South Africa and Minnesota's Gunflint Trail.

She often traveled with Florence Julian, a nursing professor with whom she shared a home for many years. Julian died in 1987.

A celebration of Harris' life will be held at 2 p.m. March 22 at Unity Church-Unitarian, 732 Holly Av., St. Paul.

Jim Foti • 612-673-4491

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