School of Nursing Hosts 35th Anniversary Gala

• By Suzanna Cisneros
• September 6, 2016

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Nursing celebrated their 35th Anniversary Gala to commemorate their 35 years of nursing education.

 

The gala honored the School of Nursing Founding Dean Teddy Langford Jones, Ph.D., FNP. Jones served as dean from the school’s inception in 1979 through 1992, where she instituted TTUHSC’s Bachelor of Nursing program, graduate program and the relocation of the School of Nursing from Texas Tech University to TTUHSC.

 

TTUHSC School of Nursing Dean Michael Evans, Ph.D., R. N., said since its inception, the school has developed innovative degrees to meet the needs of Texas residents.

 

“We are very proud of the reputation that this school has earned across the State of Texas and way beyond,” said Evans. “Over these thirty-five years, our faculty have been constantly innovative and resourceful with the creation of new degree programs and improvement of existing ones. Our number of alumni who have graduated from this school now approaches 10,000.”

 

Naomi Judd, a six-time Grammy award winning singer and registered nurse, was the special guest speaker during School of Nursing 35^th Anniversary Gala. Judd’s experience as a nurse had brought on a personal health crisis when she was infected with hepatitis C from a used needle. She was given only three years to live. Instead of resigning to her diagnosis, she fought with tenacity to overcome; with the help of her family, friends and medical team, she was cleared of hepatitis C.

 

Judd spoke from her stance as more than just a country singer. As an author, she seeks to empower others through her writing. In 2004, Judd published the New York Time’s bestseller “Naomi’s Breakthrough Guide: 20 Choices to Transform Your life” and in 2008 wrote “Naomi’s Guide to Aging Gratefully: Facts, Myths, and Good News for Boomers.

 

During the gala, the Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to Ruan Reast, FNP, R.N. Reast graduated from the School of Nursing in 1984. She continued her education with TTUHSC with a Master of Science in Nursing in 1993. Reast serves as TTUHSC’s only full time family nurse practitioner in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. She was previously awarded the School of Nursing 25th Anniversary Silver Star Award and the School of Nursing Graduate Program’s Outstanding Preceptor Award.