Judy Jean Chapman, professor emerita of nursing at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, passed away on September 8. She was 83 years old.
A native of Nashville, Chapman earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Vanderbilt University, where she won the Founder’s Medal in Nursing for first honors in her class. After completing a master’s degree in nursing form the University of Florida, she returned to Vanderbilt to teach as an instructor in maternal-child nursing in 1966. Six years later, she was promoted to associate professor with tenure.
During the 1982-1983 academic year, Chapman served as interim dean of Vanderbilt’s School of Nursing. That year, she received an Award of Merit from the department of nursing at Vanderbilt University Hospital.
In 1988, Chapman became a liaison for Vanderbilt’s department of emergency medicine, promoting emergency medical services to nurses, medical students, and physicians. Certified as an emergency medical technician, she developed two popular medical school elective courses in emergency medicine and fostered collaboration between Vanderbilt and Nashville’s EMS community.
Chapman’s late husband John served as dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine for over 25 years. In 2001, the school honored the Chapmans’ legacy by renaming its main entrance the Judy Jean and John E. Chapman Quadrangle.