Nursing Educator Takes a Seat for Women's Health

The School of Nursing has named Yondell Masten, Ph.D., associate dean for outcomes management and evaluation, The Florence Thelma Hall Endowed Chair for Nursing Excellence in Women’s Health.

Longtime Texas Tech supporter Marie Hall established the chair in memory of her mother, who had a lifetime dream of becoming a nurse. This chair, previously held by Chandice Covington, Ph.D., R.N., is a catalyst for the development of women’s health programs in the School of Nursing and the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health (LWBIWH).

“Dr. Masten has had a specialization in women’s health since the beginning of her career,” said School of Nursing Dean Michael L. Evans, R.N., Ph.D., FAAN. “She is exactly what this endowed chair is all about: a nurse whose work demonstrates tireless advocacy for educating women and nursing students to make a difference in the lives of women and girls through educating individual clients and reaching out to connect with them to promote improved health.”

The Florence Thelma Hall Chair for Nursing Excellence in Women’s Health reports to the School of Nursing and works in collaboration with LWBIWH Executive Director Laura Street.

“We are honored to welcome Dr. Masten as The Florence Thelma Hall Endowed Chair for Excellence in Women’s Health,” Street said. “She not only embodies the excellence in nursing education and practice that this appointment implies but she also brings her vast experience and creativity in interdisciplinary professional initiatives and what that means to the future of medical and nursing education.”

Masten’s research focuses on prenatal education, adolescent pregnancy and women’s health. Recent projects include co-directing the Nurse-Family Partnership and the Patient Navigator Program at the Larry Combest Community Health & Wellness Center. She is currently working with the School of Medicine to establish a Centering Pregnancy faculty practice for certified advanced practice registered nurses at the Combest Center.

She has served on local, state and national women’s health boards, presented childbirth education to teens for local pregnant teens, led adolescent pregnancy panel discussions, and provided women’s health-focused continuing education. In addition, Masten has published a variety of women’s health articles and books.

Masten received her Ph.D. in engineering from Texas Tech. She also holds a Master of Science in Nursing in maternal/child nursing from the University of Texas at Austin and a post-master’s certificate as a women’s health nurse practitioner from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. She is a member of several professional nursing organizations, including the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses and the National Association for Women’s Health Nurse Practitioners. In 2011, Masten received a Distinguished Teaching Award from the Chancellor’s Council.