programs for nurses. "...[while in graduate school] at one point, I worked for the National League for Nursing," Kinsinger recalls. "I was a general education consultant. And I went all over the country spreading Mildred Montag's word about the concept of the two-year college, and, of course, faced all the hostile nurses and physicians who didn't want to lose the people they were getting to do their work for them."

Photo Caption: At the 2010 Awards Convocation, during the presentation of the Robert E. Kinsinger Award to Bachelor of Science degreenursing graduate Marie Wrinn, a spontaneous, standing ovation broke out for Dr. Kinsinger in appreciation for his dedication and his contributions to the College's history.

His interest and advocacy for a two-year nursing program led to his dissertation on two-year colleges. At the outset, Kinsinger had agreed with his wife, Bobbie, that they would return to Boise when he finished his doctorate, but his interests changed. He wanted to remain in New York to continue the work he was doing, now with the New York State Education Department (SED) and its leaders. In fact, the leaders in New York were really setting the education trends of that time. His relationships with Gordon Ambach (then executive deputy commissioner of SED) and Dr. Donald Nolan (then coordinator of academic programs for SED) were to prove important to his future relationship with the College.

Based on his work with Montag and his dissertation, Kinsinger began to take on short-term projects for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. These projects reflected the Foundation's interests in addressing nursing needs. Soon, he was working for Kellogg as its point person on higher education. After a couple of years, he became a vice president. Though working from Michigan, his friendship with Montag and his relationships with individuals in the SED continued.

When the Regents External Degree Program began working toward the goal of developing an associate degree program in nursing, Kinsinger was aware of the plans. Coupled with his prior work, both in his doctoral program and with the National League for Nursing, he was a natural ally, becoming deeply involved in the development of a proposal to the Foundation, writing the award letter when it decided to make a grant to fund development of the new degree. A performance-based program, the Regents' associate degree in nursing was an entirely new approach to nursing education. The Foundation was pleased with the results and came forward with additional grants, eventually supporting the bachelor's degree in nursing as well. All of this took place under Kinsinger's watchful eye.

Photo Caption:
Founders at the Inauguration of the College's First President
April 19, 1999

Top row (l to r) Mildred S. Schmidt championed the development of the College's first nursing degree program as secretary to the State Board for Nursing; C. Wayne Williams, first president of Regents (then Excelsior) College; Donald J. Nolan, first director of the Regents External Degree Program (REX). Bottom row (l to r) Alan Pifer, whose support in directing a grant to the fledgling program as president of the Carnegie Corporation was essential to the birth of the College; Robert E. Kinsinger made significant contributions to the College's first nursing programs as vice president for program development with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Janet Nyquist attended the inauguration in place of her late husband, Ewald B. Nyquist, whose vision set the course for REX. Not pictured is Marshall Robinson, who, as vice president of the Ford Foundation, encouraged and supported funding that was critical to the development of REX.

8 | Live & Learn 40th Anniversary Edition