Three Landmark Symposia on Theory Development in Nursing: Celebrating the Golden Anniversary of Publication of the Proceedings in Nursing Research.

Nursing theory arose with collective self-awareness amidst vigorous debate among early nursing scholars that, over the years, produced metatheory, grand theory, and middle range theory for nursing research and practice (Henly, 2016). Position statements of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) have emphasized the established centrality of theory in nursing research, scholarship, and PhD education (AACN, 1998, 1999, 2010). Publication of texts on nursing theory into as many as six editions (e.g., Meleis, 2012; Reed& Shearer, 2011), alongwith a recent proposal for reorientation of the philosophical context in which theory is situated (Risjord, 2010), is evidence of continuing interest in theory in nursing. Three symposia held at the Case Western Reserve University Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing and the University of Colorado School of Nursing in 1967 and 1968 were “landmarks” in the development of theory in nursing for two reasons (Nicoll, 1986). First, the symposia brought “together a unique group of people” who described the meetings as “‘electrifying,” “stimulating,” and “challenging,” as it seemed “that everyone at these conferences recognized the importance of the events” (Nicoll, 1986, p. 92). Second, the proceedings were published in Nursing Research in a series of issues in 1968 and 1969. As the first journal to have as its dedicated mission the publication of original research in nursing, Lucille Notter, Editor in 1968, took on the task of ensuring that papers from the conference proceedings underwent rigorous and objective peer review to ensure they were of the highest quality. The success of the efforts of authors, reviewers, and the Editor is obvious from the vast and lasting impact of the papers on the development of nursing as an academic discipline. In the 50 years since publication of the proceedings, lively dialogue documented in the academic, professional, and scientific literatures in nursing reveals a wide range of opinion about theory—in fact, so broad have the viewpoints been that DeKeyser and Medoff-Cooper (2001) asked the question “Is nursing theory dead?” even as they argued that the basis of all nursing endeavors lies in theory! Today, changes in the health– illness profiles of people across the globe, changes in nursing practice, and advances in technology and the sciences relevant