On Thanksgiving Day 1901, Dr. Leonard Broughton and women of Atlanta Baptist
Tabernacle envisioned the establishment of a nursing school and infirmary,
with a mission "to train Christian nurses, with emphasis on both Christian
and nurse."
In 1902, the Baptist Tabernacle Infirmary School for Nurses accepted its
first class of students, with four of the 10 initial students graduating two
years later.
In 1906, the curriculum changed from a two-year program to a three-year
program.
In 1913, the Georgia Baptist Convention assumed responsibility for the
nursing program and the infirmary where classes were taught and was granted
a charter for Georgia Baptist Hospital and Georgia Baptist Hospital School
of Nursing.
In 1921, the hospital and school move to their present location at 274
Boulevard, downtown Atlanta.
In the 1980s, the School sought approval, and was granted by the Georgia
Board of Nursing, to become a baccalaureate program and was renamed Georgia
Baptist College of Nursing.
In September 1989, the College admitted its first baccalaureate class,
which graduated in 1993, with all appropriate accreditation.
In May 1999, the College had its first male graduate.
On January 1, 2001, the College will merge with Mercer University and become
the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing of Mercer University.
Student Statistics
Fall 2000 enrollment: 311 students
Average SAT: 1029
Average college prep GPA: 3.36 out of 4.0
Average GPA of freshmen at end of the first year: 3.28 out of 4.0
Percentage of students who entered in fall 2000 already with a bachelor's
degree: 18 percent
Retention Rate: 92 percent
Median age of student body: 22 years old, with students ranging from 17
to 57
Composition by gender: 303 female, 8 male
Ethnic groups represented: Caucasian 74 percent; African-American 21 percent;
Asian 3 percent; Hispanic 1 percent; other 1 percent
States represented: Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Maryland,
New Jersey, Alabama, Michigan
Countries of origin (other than USA): India, Romania, Laos, Bermuda, France,
Vietnam, El Salvador, Virgin Island
Accreditation
Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of College and School
The Georgia Board of Nursing
The National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission
Alumni
Total number of alumni through May 2000: 5,762 (5,081 from the School of
Nursing; 681 from the College of Nursing)
