Visit any major Northern Virginia hospital system, and odds are you will be taken care of by a George Mason University nurse. Our alumni are changing the face of health-care right in our backyard, with over 80% of students finding a job within 25 miles of campus after graduation. Rest assured, you will be in a good hands! Every Mason nurse has been educated by some of the most innovative thinkers in the field, while practicing hands-on clinical and leadership skills throughout their program. This tradition of excellence, started over 40 years ago when the School of Nursing was founded, continues to this day thanks to trail-blazing faculty members who saw the promise and potential of our nursing students.
General Hazel Johnson-Brown was one such faculty member. Inspired at a young age to become a nurse, she was a remarkable leader with the power not only to heal, but to command an army.
General Johnson-Brown was the first female African American general in the United States Military and reached the pinnacle of her military nursing career when she was appointed Chief of the Army Nurse Corps with the rank of Brigadier General, becoming the first African American to do so.
General Johnson-Brown’s military career took her around the world, from serving in Asia to settling in the Washington, DC area, where she joined the nursing faculty here at Mason. She is best remembered on campus for her instrumental role in the founding of the Center for Health Policy. Alumni and faculty most often remark on General Johnson-Brown’s commitment to mentoring students, especially those that were beating the odds to earn their nursing degrees.
General Johnson-Brown military accomplishments are memorialized at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC and now Mason is embarking on a campaign to memorialize her nursing career here on campus.
To honor her commitment to nursing students, the General Hazel Johnson-Brown Endowed Scholarship has been established in her name.
The fund will benefit students in the College of Health and Human Services with a demonstrated financial need. The General Hazel Johnson-Brown Endowed Scholarship will ensure that our nursing students receive a high-quality education, regardless of their financial status.
Please join us today in supporting this important initiative. Together, we can secure the legacy of General Hazel Johnson-Brown.
Support the General Hazel Johnson-Brown Endowed Scholarship
July 7, 2017 / Emily Cooper
