Elizabeth Sterling Soule

Her career has been called "a legend for nurses" - a legend of fifty years of service to nurses and the public. She served as the first county TB nurse in Walla Walla and as a result of her work, was appointed to the position of State Superintendent of County Public Health Nurses. In 1921, she became the head of the Department of Nursing at the University of Washington where she provided the leadership and changes that resulted in the program becoming a four-year baccalaureate degree in nursing. In 1940 she was the first woman to receive the University's highest honor -- Alumnus Summa Laude Dignatus. In 1945 she became the Dean of the UW School of Nursing and continued in that role for thirty years. She served in many leadership roles at WSNA and served on the ANA Board from 1932 through 1944.