Hastings College is raising $50,000 to name a nursing skills lab in honor of the nationally-recognized peer education leader.
As director of campus health services from 1978 through 2007, Judy Sandeen ‘63 transformed how Hastings College served its students. In shifting from a strictly reactive health care model to include proactive health education through peer educators, she empowered students to take responsibility for their health and well-being.
Hastings College is looking to highlight Sandeen’s legacy of promoting hands-on health education by naming the nursing skills lab at the Bryan College of Health Sciences nursing education center in Mary Lanning Healthcare’s new Medical Office Building in her honor. The goal is to raise $50,000 by March 15.
“Through her innovative peer education programs at Hastings College, Judy created an environment on campus where all students had robust opportunities to learn about leading healthy, productive lives,” said Dr. Rich Lloyd, executive president of Hastings College and president of Bryan College of Health Sciences. “It is fitting that tomorrow’s nurses, including many who will be taking classes at Hastings College, will learn hands-on nursing skills in a laboratory named in Judy’s honor.”
The Judy Sandeen Nursing Skills Laboratory will include four beds to allow students to become proficient in bedside nursing techniques such as taking blood pressures, placing IVs and checking heart rates. The lab is one component of the nursing classrooms, laboratories and offices that will occupy 17,000 square feet on the third floor of the new Medical Office Building.
To learn more about the campaign and to make a gift to the Judy Sandeen Nursing Skills Laboratory, go to hastings.edu/judysandeen.
About Judy Sandeen
As director of campus health services for nearly 30 years, Judy (Raymond) Sandeen transformed how Hastings College served its students. In shifting from a strictly reactive healthcare model to include proactive health education through peer educators, she empowered students to take responsibility for their health and well-being.
Sandeen, a 1963 Hastings College graduate, earned her nursing diploma from Mary Lanning School of Nursing. She returned to Hastings College as campus nurse in 1978. By 1984, she started the College’s first peer education group, the Student Health Advisory Committee (SHAC). Later, she brought a chapter of Boosting Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students (BACCHUS) to campus, in part as a response to changes to the legal drinking age. She founded Peer HIV Education Organization (PHIVE-O) in 1991, Alliance in 1992 and College Acquaintance Rape Education (CARE) in 1993 to foster awareness and conversations among all on campus.
Beyond preparing Hastings College students for healthy lives, the peer education model equipped students interested in healthcare careers with significant communication experience and, as the groups earned national recognition, provided opportunities for the students to meet their peers and future colleagues from around the world.
As a licensed registered nurse, Sandeen held leadership positions in the Central College Health Association and was a member of the Nebraska and American Nurses Associations. She earned numerous national and regional awards for her leadership in collegiate health education, as did the students she led.
Beyond campus, she previously served as a board member for many organizations. In her retirement, she remains involved with the League of Women Voters, Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), Nebraskans for Peace and Adams County Senior Services. Additionally, she is a member of First Congregational United Church of Christ where she serves as Deacon and justice committee chair.
Sandeen is married to Jack Sandeen, also a 1963 Hastings College graduate, and is the mother of two grown children: Eric of St. Paul, Minnesota, and Amy of Hastings. The Sandeens have two grandchildren.
