Eugene Tranbarger came to North Carolina to earn his Master of Science in Nursing in Nursing Administration from UNC-Chapel Hill. After graduating from this program in 1970, he became the Associate Director of Nursing at NC Memorial Hospital and was appointed as an adjunct faculty member at the UNC School of Nursing, becoming the first male nursing faculty member in NC. He is the only man to serve as President of the North Carolina Nurses Association and the first man to Chair the North Carolina Board of Nursing.

Tranbarger has played crucial roles in the American Assembly of Men in Nursing, holding every major office including serving as its President for two terms. In addition, Tranbarger edited the AAMN journal Interaction for six years. In 2007, he coauthored “Men in Nursing”, the first book to focus on the history, challenges and opportunities for men in nursing. In 2008, the ANA honored Tranbarger as the first recipient of the Luther Christman Award which recognizes the contributions that an individual man has made to the profession of nursing.