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 oon
after Steve Ellwood was hired in 1983 as an educational media specialist,
a sign was hung on the front door of the nursing school. It read:
“Dean Wanted—No Academic Credentials Necessary.”
Nursing students put up the sign in
protest after the head of the school resigned amid a cloud of controversy.
The incident is the first of many moments that stand out in Ellwood’s
memory and one of the few things he hasn’t photographed
in 22 years at Emory in the School of Nursing.
Since then, Ellwood’s once part-time
role has evolved into assistant director of instructional technology.
Essentially, he is a photographer, instructional technology guru,
and walking nursing school historian rolled into one. He’s
seen six deans come and go. Now, when deans from other schools visit,
Ellwood is often their tour guide, answering their questions about
the state-of-the-art School of Nursing Building that opened on Clifton
Road in 2001.
Like many nursing faculty, staff,
and alumni, Ellwood spent most of his career in the School of Nursing
Building on Asbury Circle, now an annex of Emory University Hospital.
“It was a fortress-like place with hardly any windows,”
Ellwood recalls. “But inside we had an atrium that only we
could see. The school adopted the garden in the atrium and made
it something beautiful.”
Styles and technology have changed
greatly since Ellwood joined the school in the early 1980s. Students
then still wore blue smock dresses with white aprons and nursing
caps. Methods for teaching them have progressed as well.
“I’ve been a fly on the
wall in the classroom, so I’ve seen how nursing instruction
has changed,” he says. “For example, in a midwifery
class, they would discuss cases, talk about mothers, deliveries,
and work out problems. They still do that today. Much of the content
has not changed, just the way the information is presented. Of course
some subjects, like genetics, have evolved a lot and now have a
much bigger place in the curriculum.”
As an instructional technology manager,
Ellwood supports teachers in the use of audio-visual equipment in
the classroom. “The tools of the trade have changed. They
used to be simple and straightforward, like blackboards and slide
projectors,” Ellwood says. “Slide photography was my
mainstay. I stopped counting when I reached 10,000 slides.”
Today, PowerPoint presentations and
videos are the technology of choice for classroom teaching. Instructors
also use interactive distance-learning technology to take advantage
of experts in other places. “It’s been shown that active
learning methods are more effective with today’s students,”
Ellwood explains. “For example, we make video clips to get
the students’ attention. Once engaged, they are more likely
to hear and retain information. One of my ongoing challenges is
keeping up with technology and helping teachers transition.”
Because of his photography skills,
Ellwood maintains the school’s photo archive—physically
and mentally. “Photography is still an important part of my
job, but it has changed so much in the past 10 years,” he
adds. “In the old building, I had my own darkroom. But I had
to give that up and switch over to digital photography when we moved
into the new building.”
Just recently, he and the school’s
communications director, Amy Comeau, combed through the school’s
historical photos to use in displays celebrating the school’s
100th anniversary this year. “Amy was surprised that I knew
so many of the faculty from way back. I showed her an old picture
of Dr. Sally Lehr when she was the 1963 Sweetheart of Sigma Chi.
I could just imagine Sally later in the 70s in her bell bottoms.”
“Steve is the most dependable,
helpful person I have ever worked with,” says Lehr, a clinical
assistant professor in the Department of Adult and Elder Health.
“Not only does he always come through, but each time a new
issue arises, Steve always figures out a solution. I think every
person who’s been part of the nursing school has much appreciation,
fondness, and respect for him.” |
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What
has Ellwood enjoyed most about the nursing school? “I get
a lot of energy from the ebb and flow of a college campus,”
he says. “There are always new things happening. Moving into
the new building gave us all a fresh start. I’ve always been
around nurses—my mother was a nurse—so I feel comfortable
here. And the thing I’ve liked the most is being a little
part of the 20 BSN classes that have graduated during my time here.
I am very proud of that.”
The feeling is mutual. The Nurses
Alumni Association made Ellwood an honorary alumnus. He holds an
Award of Distinction, the university’s highest honor for Emory
employees. Last fall, in a meeting before the nursing school, Ellwood
was presented with the School Life Award for his contributions to
“the spirit and vitality of the school and all its constituents.”
As head of the School Life Committee, Ellwood spearheaded a drive
that raised $4,000 for the Tsunami Well Project. The nursing school
administration more than matched the $1,300 contributed by students,
staff, and faculty to construct two hand-dug wells in Sri Lanka,
one of the countries hardest hit by the December 2004 tsunami.
“Steve has a huge and open heart,”
says Dr. Maureen Kelley, chair of the Department of Family and Community
Nursing. “I remember his awe when his children were born.
I remember his great homemade apple pie at our Thanksgiving celebrations.
He embodies caring. We just couldn’t do without him.”
Carol
Pinto is senior production manager and editorial associate for Emory
Nursing magazine.
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