Houston Christian University (HCU) has announced the naming of the Linda Dunham School of Nursing. This special recognition honors the life and legacy of Linda Dunham who passed away on April 21, 2023.
The nursing school, which awarded its first degrees in 1972, offers faith-centered curriculum to empower students to become compassionate leaders in diverse hospitals, healthcare settings and communities, and provide care that transforms lives.
“It is a great honor for HCU to name our School of Nursing after Linda Dunham. Her faith, personality, character and life of service illustrate all that we hope to achieve and bear witness to in teaching and training future nurses,” said HCU President Robert Sloan.
“Linda’s gracious character, her joy, her deep commitments to Christ and to her family exemplify a marvelous blend of the kind of integration of faith and nursing practice that we seek. We look forward to her continued influence on all those who come through the Linda Dunham School of Nursing.”
Linda Dunham was an active member of The Guild and was heralded by members as “a Martha and a Mary … a woman of strong faith and a wonderful prayer warrior for many, as well as a doer. She worked tirelessly alongside her husband and her family to help others in need.”
An Endowed Scholarship was established in Mrs. Dunham’s name by the Archie Dunham family. In addition, a state-of-the-art nursing complex, slated for construction in The Sherry and Jim Smith Science, Engineering and Nursing Complex on the HCU campus, will be named the “Dunham Family Nursing Center” in the family’s honor.
“The family and I are grateful that the School of Nursing at Houston Christian University will honor Linda’s memory and that the new Dunham Family Nursing Center will be named after the Dunham family. My mother was a nurse in Oklahoma who worked well into her eighties. Our daughter, Laura Shook, was a nurse before entering full-time Christian ministry. Linda would say that nursing should also be a ministry because the very best nurses demonstrate patience, kindness, gentleness and love as they care for their patients. It will be our family’s prayer that all the nurses that graduate from the Linda Dunham School of Nursing demonstrate those attributes as they care for their patients,” said Dr. Archie Dunham.
Linda and her husband, Dr. Archie Dunham, have been steadfast supporters of the University through the years. The couple’s generosity and support have left an indelible mark on the landscape of HCU in significant ways, including the establishment of The Linda and Archie Dunham Theater, The
Archie W. Dunham College of Business, The Dunham Bible Museum and Dunham Field. The Dunhams were recognized in 2019 as HCU’s “Family of the Year” for their faith, integrity, generosity and service to God’s Kingdom. Their family includes Steve and Rondan Dunham, Laura and Mark Shook, and Cary ’93 and Jess Rogers Dunham ’00, MEd ’02, both alumni of HCU.