Professor of Nursing and Dean Emerita

When Claire Fagin was studying for her doctorate in the mid 1960s, children were separated from their parents when they were hospitalized. Dr. Fagin experienced this herself, when her own child was hospitalized — and she decided to study the phenomenon, writing her dissertation on “rooming in. This groundbreaking research demonstrated the critical importance to patients and nurses of allowing parents to room with their hospitalized child. Widely publicized nationally, including through television appearances by Dr. Fagin, her dissertation and subsequent research helped transform hospital practices nationwide. Hospitals began allowing parents to stay overnight with their children, and by 1978, 62 percent of hospitals allowed 24-hour visiting in pediatric units.

“Nursing gives us purpose and satisfaction, and sustains us through life’s inevitable problems. 

If you don’t love your work, figure out why and fix it.”

Education

PhD – New York University – 1964 

MA – Teachers College, Columbia University –1951 

BS – Wagner College – 1948