Sister Mary Berenice Beck received the first doctorate in nursing education awarded by The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., and is one of the first ten U.S. nurses to earn a doctorate. This distinction also made her the first doctorally prepared nurse in a religious order.
Through her leadership at the American Nurses Association (ANA), the first code of ethics for
the profession was adopted. While working with Marquette University, Beck completed the
merger of the training school with the university and enrolled the first collegiate nursing
students. After serving as dean of the Marquette University College of Nursing, Beck was
professor and department chairman for ten years of the Department of Nursing Education of the
Marquette Graduate School.
She was a member of the Committee on Nursing Education of the
Catholic Hospital Association, Association of Collegiate Schools of Nursing, and National
League of Nursing Education. She was president of the Wisconsin League of Nursing Education,
vice president of ANA's Professional Counseling and Placement Service, and board members of
the Wisconsin Nurses Association, American Journal of Nursing Company, and ANA.
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