Bjoring Center Events

Spring 2026 History Forums

"125 Years of Army Nursing: Learning from the Past to Shape the Future"

February 24, 2026

5 p.m. - 7 p.m. on Zoom

This event celebrates the 125-year anniversary of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps. It features a 30-minute presentation about the history of the U.S. Army Nurse Corps by Charissa Threat, PhD, author of Nursing Civil Rights: Gender, Race, and the U.S. Army Nurse Corps, 1939-1969 (University of Illinois Press, 2015), followed by a moderated roundtable discussion with a panel of U.S. Army Nurses who have served in various roles over the past several decades. Panelists will discuss their experiences as Army nurses, reflect on major changes in Army nursing over the course of their careers, and share insights about the impact of Army nursing on the present and future of nursing and health care.

Speaker:  Charissa Threat, PhD, Associate Professor of History, Associate Dean for Students and Faculty Advancement, Chapman University

Panelists:

• LTC Monique S. Jesionowksi, DNP, APRN, AGACNP-BC, ACCNS-AG, Chief, AOC Programs and Functional Courses, Department of Clinical Specialties, US Army Medical Center of Excellence, Joint Base San Antonio, TX
• Col. Maria Pescatore, MSN, APRN, AGCNS-BC, Director of Nursing Services, Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, MD
• Gretchen M. Wiersma, DNP, RN, CNE, CHSE, Associate Professor of Nursing, UVA School of Nursing
• Terri L. Yost, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, Associate Professor of Nursing, UVA School of Nursing (SON PhD 2011)

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"Race and Reparations in the History of Psychiatry"

Kylie M. Smith, PhD

March 11, 2026 at 12 p.m. on Zoom

Randolph Award Lecture in conjunction with UVA Medical Center Hour

This presentation traces the development of Dr. Kylie Smith’s thinking and practice as a historian of psychiatry over the last decade. Drawing on insights from her work on psychiatric nurses, the ethics of health care history research, and her newest work on segregated institutions in the American South, Dr. Smith argues that the history of mental health policy and practice is indelibly shaped by its long intersection with white supremacy. This history calls into question our methods as historians, as Dr. Smith calls for a reparatory approach to the history of psychiatry in which truth telling is essential for state and professional accountability. At the same time, Dr. Smith demonstrates that this is a complex task that requires us to think carefully about our role and methods as historians, including what stories we choose to tell, and what we owe to our historical actors.

Kylie M. Smith is an associate professor of history and director of the Center for Healthcare History and Policy at Emory University. Her latest book is Jim Crow in the Asylum: Psychiatry and Civil Rights in the American South (UNC Press, 2026).  She is also the author of Talking Therapy: Knowledge and Power in American Psychiatric Nursing After WWII (Rutgers University Press, 2020).

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"Striking for the Patients: Medical Civil Rights and Labor Equity at the South Carolina State Hospital (1964-1984)"

Bradford Pelletier, PhD

April 14, 2026 at 12 p.m. on Zoom