Arthur and AnnaBelle Johnson Endowed Scholarship

Anna Belle Conrad graduated third in her high school class in Baxter Springs, Kansas. Because her family was unable to support her financially through medical school, she chose nursing. With a scholarship provided by a local women’s club, she was able to attend nursing school through St. Luke’s Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. She worked eight-hour shifts followed by four hours of classes, as was the protocol in registered nurse teaching hospitals. She earned her nursing certificate, becoming an RN and one-time head floor nurse at Menninger Hospital in Topeka, Kansas. She earned 85 cents an hour.

Moving to Wichita in 1949 with her husband, Arthur Johnson, an attorney and graduate of Washburn University, she remained ever mindful of the conditions she endured during nursing school. In hopes of ‘giving back’ to the community in which they lived and worked, she and Mr. Johnson established the Arthur and Anna Belle Johnson Endowed Scholarship in 1987; created for a student enrolled in the WSU nursing program. Mr. Johnson passed away in 2002. Mrs. Johnson continues unwavering support of WSU, in nursing and other areas.