Luther Christman

Luther Parmalee Christman (1915 to 2011) was an American nurse, professor of nursing and university administrator who campaigned for gender and racial diversity in the profession. He served with the Michigan Department of Mental Health and held academic posts at the University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University and Rush University. In 1967 he became the first man to serve as dean of a nursing school. At Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center, where he was vice president for nursing affairs, he put in place the Rush Model of Nursing, an influential way of organizing hospital nursing services. He also took part in founding the National Male Nurse Association, later renamed the American Assembly for Men in Nursing, and received several honors after retiring in 1987. He died in Nashville, Tennessee.