Year Honored: 2001

Birth: 1902 - 1999

Born in: Ohio

Biography

Lucille Petry Leone graduated from the University of Delaware in 1924, double-majoring in English and Chemistry. In 1927, she graduated first in her class from John Hopkins School of Nursing and went on to get a master’s in nursing education from Columbia University in 1929.

Leone spent the next few years teaching at Yale University as a clinical nursing instructor and at the University of Minnesota as associate professor and assistant dean of the nursing program. During that time, she pioneered the development of collaborative efforts between the community and nursing schools, to allow trainees to practice medical care and prevention treatments.

When World War II broke out, Leone was selected to lead the U.S Cadet Nurse Corps, as the founding director. Congress authorized a program during the war to recruit nurses, where candidates would have the entirety of their costs for tuition, fees, room and board, a monthly stipend of approximately $30, and a navy-style uniform provided, in exchange for their promise to “participate in essential military or civilian nursing for as long as the war lasted.” The program was extremely successful – Leone remarked that “we had a saleable package from the beginning. The girls immediately liked the idea of being able to combine war service with professional education for the future,” – so much so that no nurses had to be drafted during the war. In 1948, Leone was appointed Assistant Surgeon General of the United States (a rank equal to Admiral), and she held the role until she retired from the corps in 1966. After retiring from the Corps, Leone taught in the nursing department at Texas Women’s University until 1971.

For her work in nursing, and “for her efforts to promote the education of nurses worldwide,” Leone was presented the Florence Nightingale Medal of the International Red Cross, the Distinguished Service Award from the U.S Public Health Service, and the American Public Health Association’s Lasker Award. She has been given 10 honorary doctoral degrees – the last at age 92 from John Hopkins University – and was honored by the University of Maryland School of Nursing as “one of the seven most influential nurse leaders in nursing history.” Leone is also a charter member of the National Academy of Sciences Board of Medicine. The National League of Nursing also presents the ‘Lucile Petry Leone Award’ biennially to “an outstanding nurse educator.”
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Sources and Additional Readings

Honan, W. H. (1999, December 5). Lucile Petry Leone, 97, recruiter of nurses during World War II. The New York Times. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/1999/12/05/us/lucile-petry-leone-97-recruiter-of-nurses-during-world-war-ii.html

Lucille Petry "lucie" Leone (1902-1999) - find a... Find a Grave. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/125019502/lucille-petry-leone
Sysadmin. (1970, November 3). Lucile Petry Leone (1902-1999). Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_arc_297459

The U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps' 75th anniversary was in 2018! it continues in many ways from 2019-2023! The U.S. Cadet Nurse Corps' 75th Anniversary was in 2018! It continues in many ways from 2019-2023! (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2022, from https://uscadetnurse.org/