Virginia Commonwealth University has a long and complex history, with its earliest origins dating back to 1838. Along the way, many women have made their mark on the institution, and their influence can still be seen today, reflected in VCU’s core values, academic programs, scholarships, buildings named in their honor and more. 

Here are just a few of the many notable women in VCU’s rich history.

Sadie Heath Cabaniss

Until the early 20th century, nurses in Virginia did not need to be registered before they could practice. That changed in 1903 thanks to a law that Petersburg-born nurse-educator Sadie Heath Cabaniss (1865-1921) helped draft.

Educated at the Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Cabaniss was recruited by Old Dominion Hospital in Richmond to supervise its operating room, and six months later, in 1895, the hospital asked her to organize a training school for nursing. That school became one of the early predecessors of the VCU School of Nursing.

Cabaniss was particularly dedicated to public health and caring for the poor, and she inspired her students to volunteer in rest homes, orphanages and similar settings. She left Old Dominion in 1901 to start – with a group of former students – the Nurses Settlement of Richmond, an agency through which nurses cared for patients in their homes. That same year, she helped found, and became the first president of, the Virginia State Association of Nurses.

Cabaniss served a variety of other public health nursing roles throughout the rest of her career in Virginia, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia. In 2002, she was inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame. Today, the VCU School of Nursing is housed in Sadie Heath Cabaniss Hall on the university’s MCV Campus.

More details on her life and the impact she made on the nursing profession can be found on the VCU Libraries website.

Continue reading "Women who paved the way at VCU" on the VCU News site to learn about other notable women in VCU's history, such as Orie Latham Hatcher, Ph.D., Theresa Pollak and Grace E. Harris, Ph.D.