In July 1949, Myrtle Kitchell arrived at the State University of Iowa to assume the position of Director of the School of Nursing. Five months later, when the School of Nursing was reorganized as the College of Nursing, Kitchell became Dean of the College. She was the first female dean on campus.

79. Myrtle Kitchell Aydelotte, c. 1950

An academic innovator, Kitchell was instrumental in creating the College of Nursing and in planning the four-year curriculum that led to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree. She initiated a program enabling nurses already possessing three-year diplomas to pursue a BSN, and established an undergraduate program in psychiatric nursing and a master's program in nursing service administration.

Kitchell completed her PhD at the University of Minnesota in 1955 and, after resigning from her position as Dean in 1957, continued to teach in the College of Nursing. In 1968, she was named Director of Nursing

Services at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, a position she held until 1976. Her leadership was recognized nationally in 1977, when she was appointed Executive Director of the American Nurses' Association, a position she held until 1981.