In accordance with the donor's wishes, the audio from the oral history interview must be used in-person at the Salve Regina University Archives and Special Collections, and cannot be published digitally.
Materials are arranged as prepared by Sullivan, with exhibit numbers given to particular materials for reference during the interview. There are two items labeled "Exhibit 4." The materials are in a single series, encompassing documents, a binder, and realia.
[Identification of item], in RG 21.5: Kate Sullivan Collection on the Nursing Program at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Box 1, [Folder #], Salve Regina University Archives, McKillop Library, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
Various copying restrictions apply, according to the Archives' use policy. Salve Regina University owns the copyright to material produced by employees and trustees of the University and work for hire. Requests for permission to publish material from the University Archives should be directed to the Archivist. See also the Archives' copyright and publication statement.
The collection was donated by Kate Sullivan in 2013.
University Archivist and Special Collections Librarian Genna Duplisea performed minimal arrangement and wrote the finding aid for this collection.
Catherine "Kate" Sullivan, also known as Sister Marilyn Sullivan, R.S.M, devoted her life's work to mental health nursing and was instrumental as a Sister of Mercy and Salve Regina faculty member in the establishment of a national nursing program in Honduras in the late 1960s.
Sister Marilyn entered the Sisters of Religious Mercy in 1950 in Providence. She received a B.S. in Nursing from Salve Regina College in 1956, and an M.S. Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing from Catholic University of America in 1958, and then returned as faculty to Salve Regina College.
During 1966-1971, the administration and faculty of Salve Regina College actively supported Latin American universities in establishing academically recognized nursing education programs. Honduras was facing a critical nursing shortage and SRC faculty and administration provided the support to the National University of Honduras (UNAH), which led to the establishment of the UNAH Nursing Education program that continues to thrive. Sister Marilyn served as Assistant Director in 1966, and then Director of the Department of Nursing Education at National University of Honduras from 1967-1970. The program received official recognition from the World Health Organization.
Sister Marilyn also served as a short-term World Health consultant in Peru and Colombia assisting agencies in planning, implementing, and evaluating mental health programs and also conducted surveys of nursing education programs from 1969-1971. She authored articles on the role of psychiatry in the family life cycle, and surveyed methods of teaching psychiatric nursing.
Sullivan returned again to work as faculty at Salve Regina College as a professor of nursing and as administrative coordinator and counselor of the college's counseling center in 1970-1971. She continued to devote her life's work to mental health nursing, serving as director of various agencies, including the Morris County Mental Health Department in New Jersey and the University of Rhode Island Health Services.
She returned to Salve Regina College to earn a master's degree in Administration of Health Services in 1985. She received the Salve Regina Mission Award, which recognizes a Salve Regina graduate whose service to others exemplifies the mission of the University, in 2012.
The collection centers around an oral history interview conducted in 2013 between University Archivist Julie Swierczek and Catherine "Kate" Sullivan related to Sullivan's work with the nursing program at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras. During the interview, Sullivan refers to items in the collection, some of which are designated as "exhibits." Included in the collection is a small amount of correspondence and additional documentation.