Fulfilling a Nursing Legacy
Written by Laura Alsum
Apr 22, 2024
When Mary was 11 years old, she contracted polio and had to spend six weeks in a hospital isolation room. Her family members could only wave to her through a window. During that time, a revolving door of nurses cared for Mary; some nurses were kind and capable, and others were not. It was then that Mary decided what she would do when she grew up. She would become a nurse and dedicate herself to ensuring that all nurses practiced their profession with caring competence.
Mary stayed true to this vision and graduated from Skidmore College with a bachelor’s degree in nursing. She began her training at New York University where she met her husband, a medical student named Richard Krugman. Now, Dr. Richard (Dick) Krugman is the former Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs and Dean at the University of Colorado School of Medicine for 25 years and is a distinguished professor in pediatrics at the Kempe Center.
“We met at the [NYU] dorm elevator on October 4, 1963, at 5 p.m.,” shared Dick. “She was in a white nurse’s uniform, and I was in a smelly lab coat from anatomy lab.”
After Mary and Dick married, moved to Denver, and started a family, Mary resumed her career in nursing and received her PhD in Higher Education at the University of Denver. Mary began working at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) in 1992, ultimately serving as the director of Nursing, Innovation and Outcomes. She co-created the concept of graduate nurse residency programs that has been widely adopted as a best practice across the country. Mary was a mentor to dozens of nursing colleagues over her 23 years at UCH, and in 2017, she served as interim dean of the CU College of Nursing.
In recognition of her achievements, Dr. Mary Krugman was inducted into the American Academy of Nursing and received the Florence Nightingale Award for leadership in Administrator, Educator, Researcher and other Nontraditional Roles. In 2020, she received a University Medal from the University of Colorado Board of Regents in recognition of her contributions to promoting the excellence of nursing care throughout the country.
“Mary was beloved by everyone,” said Dick. “She loved the environment at UCH and loved what she was able to do with the chief nursing officers – to make people work together and improve outcomes for patient care.” Mary was diagnosed with Parkinson’s and passed away in April 2023. Now, a year after her death, Dick is honoring her memory in a way befitting of the enduring mark she’s made in nursing.
The Krugmans had already endowed a lectureship in the College of Nursing several years before Mary’s passing. “In thinking about [Mary’s] career, most of it was spent as a director of nursing research, quality and outcomes at UCH,” shared Dick. “My sons and I felt that there should be an endowment there as well.”
After learning about new nursing research fellowships at UCH, Dick decided that supporting nurses at UCH through an endowment in Mary’s name would be perfect. The first nurse to receive the Mary E. Krugman, PhD, Endowed Nursing Research Fellowship will begin in January 2025. 
“Being able to measure the quality and outcomes of our practice as health professionals is crucial,” said Dick. “It was not the routine thing to do in 1992 when Mary started at UCH. It is now a critical component of all health care systems, hospitals and practices. She initiated it at UCH in the late 1990s, and it has been in place ever since.”
Mary and Dick were always grateful for the career opportunities they had at CU Anschutz, and Dick is honored to now help another nursing professional on their own career path.
When asked how Mary would react to having a fellowship in her name, Dick said she would initially shy away from the attention. “First, she would think it was not something she did by herself, but then, she would be honored and proud to be so recognized by her colleagues,” he shared. “Everybody loved her. They did. But I loved her longer.”