Muriel Larson
May 2025
Muriel
Larson
,
MA, RN
Augustana University
Augustana University
Sioux Falls
,
SD
United States
Muriel has gifted Augustana with a legacy of discovery with the Greek Connection. What an impact she has made on generations of students, and on future generations through learning about the global community and the impact culture has on the well-being of people and nations.
Muriel has dedicated her life to elevating nursing education and expanding students' understanding of the world — and of themselves — through transformative, global experiences.
She played a key role in summer internships for nursing students, collaborating with local healthcare system leaders at Avera McKennan. Muriel led the program for 10 years, which gave students in South Dakota invaluable hands-on experiences — a testament to Muriel’s dedication to practice-based learning.
Muriel also served on the South Dakota Board of Nursing for 7 years, and on the Ethics Committee Board at Avera McKennan for 25 years. In addition, she provided leadership in maintaining the Associate Degree program at the University of South Dakota, where she taught from 1972-2001. During this time, she also continued her education at Augustana College, earning two master's degrees. She later went on to teach at Augustana College and at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Teaching nursing has been her passion and life's work.
But perhaps her most lasting legacy will be through the program we’ve come to know simply as the Greek Connection. Muriel has taken over 300 students to Greece from 2004 - 2023 for a study abroad intercultural experience that had a global impact.
Muriel had the privilege of knowing and working with Dr. Madeleine Leininger, the founder of transcultural nursing. And in her work, she has brought Dr. Leininger’s Culture Care Theory to life, guiding students through the lived experience of cultural immersion and the global dimensions of health. To honor Muriel’s intercultural work, In 2005 she was awarded the Madeleine Leininger Award for Excellence in Transcultural Nursing, presented in New York City at the Transcultural Nursing Annual Conference.
As one colleague shared:
“Muriel has gifted Augustana with a legacy of discovery with the Greek Connection. What an impact she has made on generations of students, and on future generations through learning about the global community and the impact culture has on the well-being of people and nations.”
Another wrote:
“When Muriel speaks of Greece, she speaks about her heart. She has established and maintained relationships that transcend professional ties. We often say: if you choose Greece, you choose an extended Augie family. There is no way to fully express the impact this has made on Augustana, the IPO, and hundreds of students.”
Her friends and colleagues abroad echo the same sentiment:
“She never gives up! Her positive energy, faith, resilience, and eagerness to live life to the fullest is contagious, serving as an inspiring role model for many of us for the years to come.”
Muriel is remembered in Greece — not just by her students — but by the hotel clerks, bus drivers, shopkeepers, and guides who have come to know her by name. She brings heart wherever she goes.
As one longtime travel partner shared:
“She exuberates energy, passion, positivity, courage, and enthusiasm. She has become a close friend who cares deeply for others, even becoming the unofficial grandma to my daughter. No one forgets Muriel — she is always remembered for her smile, big heart, and kindness.”
And from one of her students:
“Muriel is such a gift — to Augustana, to Greece, to us. I will always carry with me the truth that we are more alike than different. I consider myself blessed to be even the smallest bit like Muriel.”
Muriel's legacy is one of connection — between people, across cultures, and through time. She has modeled the best of nursing: compassionate care, courageous leadership, and unwavering hope. And so, it is with deep admiration and gratitude that Augustana University presented Muriel with the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award.
She played a key role in summer internships for nursing students, collaborating with local healthcare system leaders at Avera McKennan. Muriel led the program for 10 years, which gave students in South Dakota invaluable hands-on experiences — a testament to Muriel’s dedication to practice-based learning.
Muriel also served on the South Dakota Board of Nursing for 7 years, and on the Ethics Committee Board at Avera McKennan for 25 years. In addition, she provided leadership in maintaining the Associate Degree program at the University of South Dakota, where she taught from 1972-2001. During this time, she also continued her education at Augustana College, earning two master's degrees. She later went on to teach at Augustana College and at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Teaching nursing has been her passion and life's work.
But perhaps her most lasting legacy will be through the program we’ve come to know simply as the Greek Connection. Muriel has taken over 300 students to Greece from 2004 - 2023 for a study abroad intercultural experience that had a global impact.
Muriel had the privilege of knowing and working with Dr. Madeleine Leininger, the founder of transcultural nursing. And in her work, she has brought Dr. Leininger’s Culture Care Theory to life, guiding students through the lived experience of cultural immersion and the global dimensions of health. To honor Muriel’s intercultural work, In 2005 she was awarded the Madeleine Leininger Award for Excellence in Transcultural Nursing, presented in New York City at the Transcultural Nursing Annual Conference.
As one colleague shared:
“Muriel has gifted Augustana with a legacy of discovery with the Greek Connection. What an impact she has made on generations of students, and on future generations through learning about the global community and the impact culture has on the well-being of people and nations.”
Another wrote:
“When Muriel speaks of Greece, she speaks about her heart. She has established and maintained relationships that transcend professional ties. We often say: if you choose Greece, you choose an extended Augie family. There is no way to fully express the impact this has made on Augustana, the IPO, and hundreds of students.”
Her friends and colleagues abroad echo the same sentiment:
“She never gives up! Her positive energy, faith, resilience, and eagerness to live life to the fullest is contagious, serving as an inspiring role model for many of us for the years to come.”
Muriel is remembered in Greece — not just by her students — but by the hotel clerks, bus drivers, shopkeepers, and guides who have come to know her by name. She brings heart wherever she goes.
As one longtime travel partner shared:
“She exuberates energy, passion, positivity, courage, and enthusiasm. She has become a close friend who cares deeply for others, even becoming the unofficial grandma to my daughter. No one forgets Muriel — she is always remembered for her smile, big heart, and kindness.”
And from one of her students:
“Muriel is such a gift — to Augustana, to Greece, to us. I will always carry with me the truth that we are more alike than different. I consider myself blessed to be even the smallest bit like Muriel.”
Muriel's legacy is one of connection — between people, across cultures, and through time. She has modeled the best of nursing: compassionate care, courageous leadership, and unwavering hope. And so, it is with deep admiration and gratitude that Augustana University presented Muriel with the DAISY Lifetime Achievement Award.