The following is part of a series describing the origins and namesakes of the buildings located on and around NHTI’s campus.
MacRury Hall opened in 1970 and is named after Elwood F. MacRury, who spearheaded the idea for NHTI to house a school of health sciences. At the time, there was a shortage of health service personnel in New Hampshire; MacRury took action to combat the issue.
NHTI’s Health Program History
The story begins in 1961, when Dr. MacRury became a fellow of the American College of Dentists. In 1965, he was a recipient of the Royal Society Health Citation, an honor presented to him by Queen Elizabeth II for his work promoting dental health in the Hebrides Islands.
In 1966, the Health Manpower Executive Committee oversaw the creation of and drafted legislation for the Health Sciences and Services programs at NHTI. The committee comprised medical professionals from a variety of unions: the Nurses Association, Society of Radiology, and the New Hampshire Dental Society. The committee received approval from then-Speaker of the House Walter R. Peterson, Jr. to construct the School of Health Sciences and began to plan for three associate degree programs: Dental Hygiene, Nursing, and Radiologic Technology. Legislation then established a nine-member Advisory Board on Technical Services in the area of health. Dr. MacRury was named chairman of the board. He served as a board member from 1967-1979, while serving as a member of the Health Manpower Executive Committee.
Under MacRury’s leadership, NHTI acquired the operational funds necessary for establishing these three health programs. He also assisted in selecting the department heads for each of these associate degree programs (including Goldie Crocker for the nursing department). Several new programs—Dental Assisting, Emergency Medical Care, LPN-ADN, and a three-year evening associate degree Nursing program—were added in 1970 to expand the Allied Health program.
Programs Birth MacRury Hall
Along with convincing the local government to include an allied health program to NHTI, MacRury also shaped the aesthetic of the new health sciences building, resulting in the MacRury Hall we see today.
– – –
The information contained in this article was gathered from the NHTI Library archives. For more information, email [email protected].
