Organizational Lifecycle in a School of Nursing

Abstract

This article is a historical case study of the organizational lifecycle of the DePauw University School of Nursing in Greencastle, Indiana. Few studies have examined schools of nursing over their entire lifecycles. The school was created in 1954, existed for 40 years, and closed in 1994. Organizational lifecycle theory posits that organizations undergo four stages: creation, transformation, decline, and closing or death. We used this theory to guide our study, which was based on data from interviews, archival documents, and institutional records. We found that factors associated with the creation of this organization had long-lasting effects, the external environment profoundly influenced the school, and that a shift in shared values and institutional linkages contributed to its closure. As society’s need and demand for nurses increases, the continuance of schools of nursing and reasons for their demise merits the attention of faculty and administrators.