Congratulations to our exceptional faculty members who have recently received awards and achieved career milestones.

• Professor Sandra K. Hanneman, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Cizik School of Nursing’s most recent inductee to The University of Texas Kenneth I. Shine, MD, Academy of Health Science Education. A long-time student favorite, Dr. Hanneman has been selected by undergraduate students three times for the John P. McGovern Outstanding Teacher Award. 

• It has been a busy year for Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Susan D. Ruppert, PhD, RN, FNP-C, ANP-BC, FCCM, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN. She has been elected as co-chair of the Texas Center for Nursing Workforce Studies Advisory Committee; has been elected to serve on the Nominating Committee of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties for the 2022-2024 term; and has been elected to the inaugural the American Association of Colleges of Nurses Essentials Implementation Steering Committee. 

• Professor Chao Hsing Yeh, PhD, RN, FAAN, has been named the Jane and Robert Cizik Distinguished Chair. 

• Associate Dean for Practice and Community Engagement Leissa Roberts, DNP, CNM, FACNM, has been awarded the Judy Fred Professorship in Nursing. 

• Assistant Professor Amy Blok, DNP, CRNA, and Kristin Ownby, PhD, RN, AOCN, ACHPN, ANP-BC, ACNS-BC, were chosen as the 2021 John P. McGovern Outstanding Teachers of the Year. 

• Professor Vaunette P. Fay, PhD, RNC, FNP, GNP, was the 2021 recipient of the Emma Josephine Loeffelholz Award from the Institute for Spirituality and Health at the Texas Medical Center. 

• Associate Professor Martina Raquel Gallagher, PhD, RN, PMHNP-BC, was appointed to be a member of American Psychiatric Nurses Association Telemental Health Task Force to serve as a resource for psychiatric-mental health nurses. 

• Assistant Professor Linda Cole, DNP, RN, APRN, CCNS, CNE, CPHQ, FCNSI, is President-Elect for the Texas Clinical Nurse Specialist affiliate. She will serve as president-elect from 2021-2022; then as president from 2022-2023. 

• Assistant Professor Sara Lewandowski, DNP, MS, BA, BS, RN, CNE, HWNC-BC, has been elected to serve on the American Holistic Nurses Association Nominating Committee. She will serve June 1, 2022, through May 2024.

(Banner image: Dr. Sandra Hanneman teaches a class during the COVID-19 pandemic.)