Lillian Holland Harvey (1912–1994) was an American nurse, educator and doctor known for her contributions to medical education. An activist for the equal rights of African Americans, her accomplishments were achieved at a time in history when both African Americans and women faced extreme discrimination in academics and the medical field. She was a leader in her community and led a successful professional and personal life.
Dr. Lillian Holland Harvey, a native of Virginia, earned her nursing diploma in 1939, and went on to earn her bachelor's degree in 1944 from Columbia University. Dr. Harvey’s dedication to expanding her knowledge and skill as an educator prompted her to earn her master’s degree through the Teachers College at Columbia University in 1948. During a time when segregation was rampant, Harvey overcame many obstacles to strengthen the nursing field.
Harvey's intensity toward education and learning landed her first job as the director of nurse training at the Tuskegee School for Nurses, a historically black nursing school. Established in September 1892, Tuskegee School for Nurses was a historically black nursing school that offered only a three-year nursing diploma program beginning 1908. Once she became Dean at Tuskegee University, she initiated the process to turn the diploma-program school into a full baccalaureate nursing program. This program brought national attention to the School of Nursing. It made history as the FIRST baccalaureate program in the state of Alabama. In 1953, Tuskegee nursing students were able to receive a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, with the program gaining full accreditation by the National League for Nursing in 1957.
The School of Nursing flourished under the leadership of Dean Lillian Harvey. Nursing students not only received education and practical nursing experience at the Andrew Memorial Hospital and the Veterans Administration Hospital in Tuskegee but were also assigned to other major medical facilities from Massachusetts to Florida.
Harvey would eventually re-enroll at Columbia University where she received her doctorate in 1966. She completed a construction grant application to the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare that resulted in a new building for the School of Nursing. In 1978, she was the first person named Dean Emeritus by Tuskegee University. At the national level, she served on the President’s Commission on the Status of Women, the American Red Cross Advisory Committee on Nursing Service, and the Nursing Advisory Committee of the Kellogg Foundation. She was a member of the Expert Advisory Committee for Professional Traineeships of the U.S. Public Health Service. She served on the Board of Directors of the National League for Nursing and the American Journal of Nursing Company. In 1982, she was presented the prestigious Mary Mahoney Medal by the American Nurses’ Association.
Aside from her educational leadership, Harvey was involved in civil rights activism. During WWII, she oversaw training of black nurses for military service and created opportunities for them to enter the Army Nurse Corps. She also worked to desegregate the Alabama Nurses’ Association, where she was initially required to sit in a separate section away from white nurses. Despite this discrimination, she was not deterred from advocating for Black nurses and nursing students. Harvey was also a member of the President's Commission for the Status of Women (PCSW), where she was the only Black woman on the education commission.
After her retirement from Tuskegee, Harvey was active in the National Negro Business and Professional Women's club. She went on to serve as a member of the Board of Directors of the National League for Nursing and was involved in the American Red Cross, the Kellogg Foundation, the American Journal of Nursing, and the U.S. Public Health Service's committee for Professional Traineeships.
In 1992 the Tuskegee University Board of Trustees named the Nurses Home “Lillian Holland Harvey Hall” in Harvey's honor. In 1999, she was elected to the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame. She was also a 2001 Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame Inductee and the Alabama State Nurses' Association had an award set up in her name.
Her graduates would forever credit Dr. Harvey with having a powerful influence on their lives through encouraging them to advance their education, be involved in their communities, and balance work with family.
Alabama State Nurses Association (ANA) instituted the Lillian Holland Harvey Award to be awarded to a member for fostering transcultural relation, promoting advancement of minority groups, and upgrading health care services to those who are culturally and economically under-served. Dr. Valarie Thomas, associate clinical professor at AUSON, received Lillian Holland Harvey Award at the ANA annual meeting in 2020. The award cites her efforts in outreach to Ghana and her role as chair of the Auburn University School of Nursing’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Through her work, she has developed free healthcare clinics in West Africa that provide wellness and healthcare services to include blood pressure, blood glucose, urine, ear, and eye screenings. In addition, Thomas has promoted advancement for minority groups and assisted in promoting services for women, students, and faculty in the Auburn community.
