1972
- The School of Nursing opens its doors in March at the nurses’ residence of Hermann Hospital, but soon moves into the Hermann Professional Building Annex.
- Elizabeth (Betty) C. Jones, PhD, MSN, RN, is named associate dean of the school.
- On Aug. 28, 98 undergraduate students are admitted into the BSN program.
1973
- The School of Nursing officially becomes one of The University of Texas System Schools of Nursing.
1974
- 86 students graduate with a BSN.
- The school moves to Houston Main Building at 1100 Holcombe Blvd.
- MSN degree program is established.
- Programs in gerontological, oncological, and psychiatric/mental health nursing are established.
1975
- The School of Nursing Alumni Association is formed.
- Dorothy Otto, EdD, MSN, RN, becomes acting dean.
1976
- The School of Nursing becomes a part of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
- The first MSN students enroll.
1977
- Arlowayne Swort, PhD, RN, becomes dean.
1979
- Emergency Nursing Program is established.
1981
- Perinatal Nursing Program is established.
1982
- The Zeta Pi Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau National Honor Society is granted to the School of Nursing.
1983
- Critical Care Nursing program is established.
1984
- Patricia L. Starck, PhD, RN, FAAN, is appointed dean.
1985
- RN-BSN Program is established.
- Nurse Anesthesia and Women’s Health Care Nursing programs are established.
1986
- The Center for Nursing Research is established.
1987
- The Center on Aging is established.
1990
- Pediatric Nursing program is jointly established with Texas Woman’s University, becoming solely UTHealth Houston’s program in 2001.
1991
- UT Health Services clinic opens.
1992
- 13 students graduate with an MSN degree as part of an outreach program that results in The University of Texas-Pan American (now UT Rio Grande Valley) establishing its own master’s program in 1994.
1994
- PARTNERS is established with Peggy Barnett as its first chair.
- Joan Engebretson, DrPH, RN, and Diane Wardell, PhD, RN, receive a patent for the first pacifier designed for low birth weight babies, branded “Wee Thumbies.”
- Neonatal Nursing Program is established.
1995
- The first dual degree MSN-MPH program in Texas begins in Houston.
1996
- The Doctor of Science in Nursing (DSN) program is founded.
- Acute Care Nursing and Family Nursing programs are established.
2001
- U.S. News & World Report ranks the school’s MSN program among the top 12% in the nation.
- Tropical Storm Allison floods the Texas Medical Center, June 8-9.
2002
- Adult Health Nursing Program is established.
- 30 graduates are honored as Distinguished Alumni in honor of the school’s 30th anniversary.
2004
- The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, Education and Research is founded.
- The new $57 million School of Nursing and Student Community Center, 6901 Bertner Avenue, celebrates its grand opening.
2005
- The school opens the first biological sciences “wet” laboratory in a Texas nursing school.
- Hurricanes Katrina and Rita cause tremendous devastation along the Gulf Coast. UTHealth Houston operates a comprehensive 24-hour emergency health clinic in the George R. Brown Convention Center.
- Nurse Leadership and Administration Program is established.
2006
- The Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) program is established.
- The PARTNERS endowment reaches $1 million in funding. The first PARTNERS Professorship is established.
2007
- The Pre-Clinical Critical Care Laboratory is constructed.
- The title of the Doctor of Science in Nursing degree changes to the Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing. Previous doctoral graduates could request reissue of their diplomas.
- A time capsule is installed in the staircase leading from the café to the bookstore as part of the school’s 35th anniversary celebration.
2009
- $2 million in gift funding is secured for a new Accelerated PhD Program.
- In May, the school graduates the state’s first nine students ever to earn the DNP degree.
- The building is awarded LEED® Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.
2010
- The school partners with Houston Community College’s John B. Coleman, MD College for Health Sciences on early decision BSN admissions for associate degree nursing students.
- The Patricia L. Starck Accelerated PhD Scholars Program admits 10 students for the fall semester.
- The new Pacesetter BSN option is also offered for fall.
2011
- Dean Starck becomes UTHealth Houston’s Senior Vice President for Community Affairs.
- A $500,000 gift endows the Huffington Foundation Chair in Nursing Education Leadership to be held by the dean.
- The school agrees to early decision BSN admissions through the Lone Star College System.
2012
- MD Anderson’s Houston Main Building, the nursing school’s home for 30 years, is imploded on Jan. 8 prior to final demolition.
2013
- The Council on Accreditation (COA) of Nurse Anesthesia Educational Programs approves the new BSN to DNP degree in Nurse Anesthesia.
- A second group of accelerated PhD students is admitted for fall, after a successful $1.3 million fundraising initiative. All 10 members of the 2010 cohort are hired as assistant professors.
2014
- In February, Dean Starck announces plans to step down as dean at the end of the year.
2015
- Lorraine Frazier, PhD, RN, FAAN, becomes dean on February 1.
- The Nursing Informatics track in the post-master’s DNP program admits its first students in fall 2015.
2016
- In the spring semester, the Veterans’ BSN program begins facilitating the transition of U.S. Armed Forces veterans into professional nursing.
- U.S. News & World Report cites the DNP program as the highest-ranked in Texas and No. 24 nationwide.
- The Ambassador Program is established.
2017
- On Nov. 15, in recognition of their landmark gift of $25 million, the school is renamed “Jane and Robert Cizik School of Nursing at UTHealth Houston.”
2018
- The school’s original documentary, “Caring Corrupted: the Killing Nurses of the Third Reich,” wins a Platinum award in the prestigious Worldfest film competition.
- Frazier concludes her 3 ½ year deanship. Diane Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, FAAN, is appointed dean ad interim, effective Aug. 20.
- A tribute wall honoring the Ciziks’ gift is unveiled on Oct. 24.
2019
- The BSN to DNP Nurse Practitioner degree program is approved by the THECB for fall 2019.
- Robert Cizik dies June 4 at age 88.
2020
- Cizik School of Nursing cuts the ribbon on its expanded Simulation and Clinical Performance Laboratory and its new Smart Apartment.
- UTHealth Houston campus shuts down most in-person activities in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Socially distanced simulations and testing return to the nursing school during the summer term. Graduates celebrate with virtual commencement and pinning ceremonies.
- Diane M. Santa Maria, DrPH, MSN, RN, FAAN, becomes the fifth dean of Cizik School of Nursing, effective Sept. 1, 2020.
2021
- Cizik School of Nursing students, faculty, and staff volunteer countless hours at COVID-19 vaccination clinics run by UT Physicians.
- Graduates of Cizik School of Nursing, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry, and UTHealth School of Public Health participate in the first joint commencement ceremony at Minute Maid Park.
- Dean Diane Santa Maria serves as co-director of the newly formed Texas Developmental Center for AIDS Research, its Mentoring Program, and its Substance Use Scientific Working Group.
- Professor Jacquelyn Campbell, PhD, MSN, RN, FAAN, delivers the inaugural presentation of the Carla Diaz-Lewis Domestic Violence Lecture Series on Oct. 13, 2021.
2022
- The BSN to PhD program is established to give nurses interested in research the opportunity to advance their careers more quickly.
- UT Health Services moves into its spacious new clinic on the ground floor of the UTHealth Houston Professional Building.
- Patricia A. Grady, PhD, FAAN, director emeritus of the National Institute of Nursing Research, delivers the inaugural Jane and Robert Cizik Lecture on March 22, 2022.
- Cizik School of Nursing collaborates on a $2.3 million Leadership Education in Adolescent Health (LEAH) fellows HRSA-funded grant led by the Baylor College of Medicine-Texas Medical Center. Student Grecia Zamora is named the program’s first nursing fellow.
- Cizik School of Nursing celebrates is 50th anniversary with a gala on Oct. 14.
2023
- Dean Emerita Patricia Starck is honored by Nurses with Global Impact, Inc., at the United Nations in New York City on May 12.
