2025 Distinguished Alumni Award
Margaret Muir, BSN ’83, is the recipient of the Spring 2025 Michigan State University College of Nursing Distinguished Alumni Award. This award recognizes an alum who has advanced the nursing profession through professional accomplishments and commitment to nursing education, practice and research.
When Margaret embarked on a trip to North Carolina with two fellow MSU nursing students shortly before graduation, she never could have predicted how a stop at Duke University would change the trajectory of her life. After earning her BSN from the MSU College of Nursing in 1983, she moved to North Carolina and has been employed with the Duke University Health System for the last 41 years.
After serving as a staff nurse and an educator at the university hospital, Margaret was encouraged to transition into a role at Duke Regional Hospital, tasked with building trust between the hospital and community. Unsure, yet determined, Margaret took the leap into community care. Twenty-five years later, she continuously goes above and beyond as their patient experience officer to ensure patients receive the best care possible.
Margaret believes that the key to exceptional patient care is to first provide staff with proper resources and support — from trainings on how to yield the best patient experience survey results to “just because” coffee for hospital staff on their way into work. After realizing that there was a gap in resources for providing culturally competent care to transgender patients, Margaret made it the focus of her DNP thesis, which she earned from the University of North Carolina Greensboro in 2018. Now, she regularly teaches classes on transgender care to healthcare workers, nursing students and other community leaders.
Margaret is consistently seeking opportunities to serve the community. She has organized 33 American Red Cross blood drives and given 13 gallons of blood herself. After noticing that nurses were purchasing clothes for patients with their own money, she applied for a grant to open a Community Caring Closet at Duke Regional Hospital, where staff could pick up clothes for patients who needed them. She receives $10,000 annually in grant funding to keep the closet stocked with items for patients in need.
Margaret may have built a successful career in North Carolina, but she remains close to her Michigan roots, crediting her mother for encouraging her to pursue nursing at MSU. Furthermore, Margaret credits her MSU CON education for laying the foundation of the innovative mindset that drives her to always go one step further in caring for her patients and community. Margaret exemplifies the Spartan spirit in all she does.