Anna Bailey Coles (1925-3 Feb 2015) was the founding dean of

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

’s College of Nursing.

Background

Coles was born in Kansas city and became the supervisor of the Veterans’ Administration Hospital in Topeka Kansas from 1950 for a period of 8 years. While working at the hospital Coles began studying her Bachelor of Science (BS) at Avila College in Missouri, graduating in 1958, and then attended the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

to study her Masters of Science (MS) in 1960 and her PhD in 1967. Coles became the director of nursing at Freedman's Hospital from 1961–1968, when as act of Congress to transfer Freedmen's Hospital School of Nursing over to Howard's jurisdiction, and Coles became the dean of the School of Nursing in 1969. Coles died on 3 Feb 2015 and left a legacy in the form of scholarship fund in her name at Howard University's College of Nursing.

References

Catholic University of America alumni Howard University people American women nurses African-American nurses 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists 1925 births 20th-century American physicians 20th-century American women physicians Scientists from Kansas 2015 deaths 20th-century African-American women 20th-century African-American physicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American scientists Members of the National Academy of Medicine {{US-scientist-stub