Biography

Dr. Enid Zwirn, born and educated in New York City, carries her New York sensibilities with her. She was raised on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in a housing project named for Lillian Wald, the Jewish nurse who founded the Henry Street Settlement and coined the term "Public Health Nurse." Early in her career, Enid saw the importance of health promotion/disease prevention and patient advocacy as cornerstones of patient care. After graduating from Beth Israel Hospital School for Nurses at the age of 19, Enid entered New York University. There, under the auspices of Dr. Martha Rogers (Yes, that Martha Rogers) she honed her voice for nurse education empowerment and grew to see herself as an educator of strong and capable nurses who engage with competence in multidisciplinary settings.

She majored in maternal-child health and public health nursing while pursuing her master's degree in public health at The University of Michigan; she holds both a master's degree and a PhD in instructional systems technology from Indiana University. Enid believes that "nurses are therapeutic instruments with nothing in their hands," and communicated that belief to both her undergraduate and graduate learners. Using her theatrical flair, she inspired thousands of students to also embrace the values of public health and patient advocacy as integral to their more technical patient care skills. Enid is the only individual who was recognized by graduating baccalaureate students as the "Outstanding Teacher of the Year" four times. Enid was inducted into IU's Faculty Colloquium on Excellence in Teaching (FACET), as well honorary societies in nursing, public health, and education.

Now, in retirement, Enid is not retiring. She serves on the Boards of Directors for Covering Kids and Families of Indiana, Inc., the Indiana Public Health Association, and is co-founder, past president, and Board member of the Indiana Health Advocacy Coalition, an organization that promotes the development of medical-legal partnerships. Beyond these community service activities, Enid stays constantly busy with gardening, sewing, exercise classes, cooking, Temple choir, travelling, and sharing her many skills with grandchildren (four grandsons) and young girls and women from her neighborhood and Synagogue.