��ֱ����

On Dec. 13, 2008, Barbara Condon cemented herself in the history of the South ��ֱ���� State University College of Nursing. 

Seventy-three years after the first nursing students were admitted into what was then the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Nursing was ready to graduate its first Doctor of Philosophy in nursing graduate. That graduate would be Condon, who was part of an initial cohort of 13 that began 20 years ago — fall 2005. 

Condon expected her path from a master’s in nursing to a Ph.D. would take five years. She rearranged schedules and completed in 3 ½ years. 

Now retired, she was in her third year at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City, Iowa, when she began the doctorate cohort, which met one weekend a month in Sioux Falls and did the rest of its work on Web CT. That format was in place until going fully online for the 2023-24 school year. 

While Condon and her cohort were somewhat pioneers, they were mostly happy for the opportunity to earn a doctorate without uprooting their families and moving hundreds of miles away. 

Condon said, “I never thought I would ever have a chance to get a Ph.D. I got my master’s at SDSU (1994). Where I live (Sioux City), the opportunity was not available at the time. When the opportunity came up, I grabbed it. I knew to advance in the academic world, a Ph.D. was going to be a positive.” 

‘Experience all I thought it would be’ 

She was certainly right about that. Condon went on to become a full professor, taught in master’s and doctoral programs, published three additional research studies and served on the editorial board of the international journal Nursing Science Quarterly. She retired from Briar Cliff in 2020 and was honored as a professor emerita in 2022. 

“It was an excellent program run in an excellent way,” Condon said of SDSU’s Ph.D. program. “The fact that it was beginning when I began, they were all trying very hard to make it the best thing possible.” 

In a spring 2009 article in the College of Nursing magazine, Condon said, “Throughout this process, my friends were my teachers and my teachers were my friends. I’m both honored and humbled to the first graduate from the program. 

“The experience was all that I had thought it would be, and I hope to represent all that program would like to see in the graduates.” 

Thankful for faculty support 

Condon certainly did that, according to Sandra Bunkers, who was Condon’s adviser and head of the graduate nursing department at the time. She also helped Condon with the two follow-up research studies her former student undertook as a doctorally prepared nursing faculty. 

"Dr. Barbara Condon was an excellent student. She was and is a bright and creative educator and researcher. It was a pleasure to work with her and guide her dissertation research,” Bunkers said.  

Condon also gave a tip of the cap to other faculty she worked with — MaryLou Mylant, Marge Hegge, Kay Foland and Janet Lord. 

‘Congratulations, Dr. Condon’ 

In that 2009 article, Condon said she is sometimes asked if earning the degree was difficult or if she grew tired of the work. 

“I always answer by telling people it was rigorous, yes, but never a burden. I really think it was more like an adventure which at times can be a little tough, too. I know it stirred up in me that same thrill and excitement that I experienced as a child while exploring the unknown. There was always something new and exciting to learn, and I always looked forward with anticipation to what might be ahead. 

“Without a doubt, if I had to do it all over again, I would do it exactly the same way.” 

Through the passage of time, Condon’s thoughts haven’t changed. “Yes, it was pretty time consuming, but it was pretty rewarding. After the dissertation committee met, Dr. Bunkers came out of the room and said, ‘Congratulations, Dr. Condon.’ That’s a memory I will never forget.”