UTPA - College of Health Sciences and Human Services Points of Pride
Appointments and Elections to State and National Organizations »
- U.S. News & World Report's 2009 edition of America's Best Graduate Schools listed the graduate rehabilitation counseling program as one of the best of its kind in the country. The program tied with six other schools for 24th place among 100 schools.
- Ms. Sandra Tijerina, Associate Professor, Clinical Laboratory Sciences, received the Member of the Year Award from the Texas Association for Clinical Laboratory Science during their April 2008 annual meeting. She also received the Omicron Sigma Award for service.
- The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's April 2008 Accountability for Success: Report of Progress by Comprehensive Institutions in Texas highlighted the College's production of degreed nursed and allied health professionals which showed the largest percent increase (95.1% from 2000-2006) among the eight universities in the report. UTPA contributed over 60% of the growth during this period.
- Dr. Carolina Huerta, Chair of the Nursing Department, is the recipient of the American Nursing Association’s 2008 Mary E. Mahoney Award. The Mary Mahoney Award recognizes significant contributions, by an individual nurse or a group of nurses, to integration within the nursing profession. She will be given the honor in June 2008 in Washington D.C. during the American Nursing Association’s awards ceremony.
- Ms. Juana Cantu-Cabrera, Lecturer, Nursing, has been awarded the 2008 Leininger Award for Cultural Care by the International Association for Human Caring (IAHC). She will be presented with the award at the 30th Annual Conference at Chapel Hill, North Carolina in April 2008.
- The June 2007 Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education ranks the Department of Rehabilitation #1 in the nation for graduating Hispanics and the Department of Nursing #13 in the nation for graduating Hispanics.
- Clinical Lab Sciences, Nursing and Physician Assistants Program have garnered $1.2 million in scholarship funds from the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Scholarship for Disadvantaged Students ( SDS) over the last two years (2007-2008).
- Mr. Ricardo Hinojosa, Jr., a December 2007 graduate of the Clinical Laboratory Sciences program earned the highest score in the nation in the most recent American Society for Clinical Pathology’s (ASCP) Board of Registry exam for medical technologists. Hinojosa ranked #1 out of 348 test-takers.
- In May 2007, Physician Assistant students, Laura K. Williams and Mona Lisa Miranda, tied for first place for their history presentation of UTPA’s Physician Assistant Program.
- In February 2006, UTPA students in the Physician Assistants Program earned first place in a Jeopardy-style Medical Challenge Bowl.
- The College of Health Sciences and Human Service’s Physician Assistant Program is the only program in Texas outside a medical school.
- Since its inception in 2001, the Clinical Lab Sciences’ Regional Biotech Program has instructed over 20,000 students and over 400 teachers from 10 school districts in the cutting-edge field of biotechnology. The Program operates a Mobile Lab, the only one in the State of Texas and only one of three in the nation.