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TWU Measures of Excellence

(Last updated Sept. 12, 2008 )

• TWU’s enrollment grew 36 percent from 2002-07, the fourth-highest enrollment growth percentage among universities in Texas. (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Fall 2007)
  

• TWU's Hispanic enrollment increased 83.8 percent from 2002-2007, the fourth-highest among public universities in Texas. (Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, Fall 2007)

• U.S. News and World Report magazine ranks TWU second in the state and 15th in the nation among universities with the most diverse student populations.  (2009 Best Colleges issue)
  
  
• U.S. News and World Report ranks TWU’s graduate programs in occupational and physical therapy and health librarianship among the nation’s best. (2009 Best Graduate Schools issue)
  
  
• U.S. News and World Report ranks TWU’s graduate program in health librarianship fifth in the nation. (2009 Best Graduate Schools issue)
  
  
• U.S. News and World Report ranks TWU’s graduate program in occupational therapy 17th nationally.  (2009 Best Graduate Schools issue)
  
  
• TWU’s graduate program in physical therapy is ranked 24th in the nation by U.S. News and World Report. (2009 Best Graduate Schools issue)
  
  
• TWU has the largest doctoral nursing program in the country, and the 11th-largest College of Nursing in the country, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. (2007)

• Modern Healthcare magazine ranks the master of health care administration program at TWU's Houston Center as the fourth- largest in the nation. (2008)

• The Executive MBA Council ranks TWU's EMBA program as the largest in the state. (2008)
  

• Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine lists TWU among its Top 100 Schools in awarding master's degrees to Hispanics. (2008)
  

• TWU ranks 11th among rehabilitation/therapeutic schools graduating Hispanics, according to Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education magazine (2007)
  
  
• TWU ranks among the top 120 public universities nationwide in doctoral degrees awarded. Among all universities — public and private — TWU ranks in the top 200 in doctoral degrees awarded. (2006) (The Center for Measuring University Performance, http://mup.asu.edu)
  
  
• The Dallas Business Journal ranks TWU as the fourth largest employer in Denton County.  (June 2007)
  
  
• TWU’s enrollment is the eighth largest out of 25 universities in the Metroplex, according to the Dallas Business Journal (2008)
  

• TWU is one of only 16 universities in the United States — and the only university in Texas — selected to participate in the American Democracy Project Civic Agency Initiative. The three-year program is a national initiative focused on encouraging students to be civic leaders in their communities. (2008)

• Ninety-one percent of TWU baccalaureate graduates are employed in Texas or enrolled in a Texas graduate program within one year, higher than the state average of 85 percent. (2007)
  

• Minority students (excluding international students) comprise 40 percent of enrollment at TWU. (Fall 2007)
  
  
• The health care administration program at TWU-Houston is one of six university programs selected by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) as demonstration sites for the Graduate Health Management Education Demonstration Project.  The project’s goals are to influence and enhance the preparation of future healthcare leaders in an effort to improve the quality of healthcare in the United States. (2006)
  
  
• TWU nursing students consistently perform well above the state average on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX); 99 percent of our students pass within one year of graduation. (2007)
  
  
• TWU Honors Scholars hold more than 160 local, regional, national and TWU scholarships.
   
• TWU’s Honors Scholar program is one of the 10 most selective honors programs in Texas.
  
  
• Business students in TWU’s School of Management placed second in the 2007 Small Business Institute® Case of the Year Competition – Undergraduate Comprehensive Category.  Only six undergraduate awards are given each year.

• The TWU Student Council for Exceptional Children Received the Texas Council for Exceptional Children's Super Chapter Award as outstanding chapter of 2007. It was the TWU council's fifth consecutive year to win the award.
  
  
• The TWU College of Professional Education graduates approximately 475 new teachers and 125 school principals and superintendents each year.  TWU students typically achieve an overall pass rate of 98 percent on state teacher certification examinations. (2007)
  
  
• TWU awards more than $5 million in scholarships annually.
  
  
• TWU produces more new nurses than any program in Texas and is among the nation’s leading providers of healthcare professionals. (2007)
  
  
• TWU offers the only Ph.D. in physical therapy in Texas.
  
  
• TWU offers the only undergraduate degree in adapted physical education in Texas.
  
  
• TWU’s occupational therapy program produces more occupational therapists than any other program in the nation. (2008)
  
  
• TWU's occupational therapy program is one of only three in the United States to offer a Ph.D., the most rigorous degree in the field. (2008)

• TWU is the only school in Texas and surrounding states to offer post-professional degrees and specialty certificates for practicing occupational therapists.  TWU has a national reputation for providing advanced-level OT education.
  
  
• TWU produces more speech language pathologists than any other program in the state.
  
  
• TWU produces more teachers of the deaf than any other program in the state.

Milestones

• TWU became the first public university in Texas to offer a specialist degree in September 2006. TWU now offers the 60-plus hour specialist in school psychology (SSP) degree.  The graduate-level degree falls between a master’s and a doctoral degree.
  
  
• The TWU College of Professional Education marked its 100th year in 2006-07.  COPE was established at TWU in 1906-07 as the Department of Education, a service department for the preparation of high school teachers.
  
  
• The TWU Concert Choir made its Carnegie Hall debut in 2005, performing with the National Women’s Festival Chorus.  TWU’s choir was the only one asked to perform alone at the festival.
  
  
• The TWU Drama Program debuted “The Long March” at New York City’s Greenwich Street Theater in 2006 in collaboration with the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin, Ireland.
  
  
• TWU researchers were the first to document bone loss in space in a project with NASA.  Today, the TWU Institute for Women’s Health has the world’s largest database of osteoporosis imagery/scans.
  
  
• In 1956, TWU opened the first building in the nation dedicated to library science instruction.
  
  
• TWU’s Fine Arts Building was the first facility in Texas designed and built specifically to house programs in the studio arts.

• TWU’s doctoral program in nursing was the first of its kind in the Southwest.
  
  
• TWU offered the first bachelor’s degree in health and physical education in Texas.
  
  
• TWU was the first university in Texas to offer a free-standing master of arts degree in women’s studies.
  
  
• TWU was the first higher education institution in Texas to offer a degree in music.
  
  
• TWU’s Ph.D. in dance is the oldest continuing doctoral program in dance in the United States and one of only three Ph.D. programs nationwide.
  
  
• TWU currently holds the Carnegie Classification of Doctoral, Professions Dominant, which means it awards doctoral degrees in a range of fields, with the plurality in the professions other than engineering.

• TWU is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

• TWU and the Fort Worth Independent School District were awarded a $1.3 million federal grant for Project ACCELERATE, a program designed to improve the academic achievement of English language learners in the FWISD.  The U.S. Department of Education’s National Professional Development Program in the Office of English Language Acquisition awarded grants for projects designed to increase the pool of highly qualified teachers prepared to serve students with limited English proficiency and increase the skills of teachers already serving them. (2007)

• The TWU School of Library and Information Studies received a $691,323 grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Studies and a second grant of $38,400 from Tocker Foundation to implement its Professional Education for Librarians in Small Communities (PELSC) project.  The project offers an online degree program that enables library workers currently serving in small and rural communities throughout Texas to earn a master’s degree in library science. (2007)

• The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board awarded TWU a $175,000 grant for its G-Force student mentorship program. It was the second consecutive year that TWU's G-Force program received the most funding of any university in Texas. (2008)
  
  
• Dr. Manal Omary (chemistry and physics) received a $150,000 Young Faculty Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).  She was one of only 24 in the nation and two in Texas to receive the grant.  DARPA’s Young Faculty Award program is designed to seek out ideas from non-tenured faculty in order to identify the next generation of researchers working in microsystems technology. (2007)

• Dr. Ronald Davis (kinesiology) is president of the National Consortium for Physical Education and Recreation for Individuals with Disabilities (NCPERID). (Term ends in 2010)

• Dr. Linda Metcalf (family sciences) was elected president of the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT). (2008)

• Dr. Ling Hwey Jeng (library and information studies) was re-elected to her third term as a Councilor-At-Large for the Council of the American Library Association. (Term runs 2008-2011)
  
  
• Dr. Nancy DiMarco (nutrition and food sciences) is a member of the Sports Dietetics Practice Analysis workgroup of the Commission on Dietetic Registration.   The commission is a select panel of 10 registered dieticians from throughout the United States who were chosen to write the first certification exam for the credential, Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD).  (Term ends in 2009)
  

• Dr. Carolyn Bednar (nutrition and food sciences) was appointed to serve on the Research Committee of the School Nutrition Association. (Term ends July 2009)
  

• Dr. Peggy Blake Gleeson (physical therapy-Houston) is vice president of the Education Section of the American Physical Therapy Association. (Term ends in 2010)
  
  
• Dr. Betsy Kaye (Reading Recovery) serves as a Trainer Representative on the Reading Recovery Council of North America Board of Directors. (Term ends in 2011)

• Dr. Ling Hwey Jeng (library and information studies) was elected to the Executive Board of the Texas Library Association in 2008. (Term ends 2011)

• Dr. Ronald Davis (kinesiology) was appointed Texas State Coordinator of Adapted Sports for the American Association of Adapted Sports Programs (AAASP).  He will develop school-based sports programs for students with disabilities in coordination with the Texas high school scholastic sports.  (2007)

• Dr. Nancy DiMarco (nutrition and food sciences) was appointed to the Texas Joint Interim Study Committee on Nutrition and Health in Public Schools by Gov. Rick Perry.  The committee will review public school food and beverage programs to ensure healthy habits in combating childhood obesity and related diseases.

• Dr. Tammy Stephens (teacher education) is president-elect of the Texas Council for Exceptional Children. (Term ends June 21, 2009)

• Dr. Jerry Whitworth (COPE) is past-president of the Texas Council for Exceptional Children. (Term ends June 21, 2009)
  
  
• Dr. Lloyd Kinnison (teacher education) is treasurer of the Texas Council for Exceptional Children. (Term ends June 21, 2009)

• Dr. Richard Sheardy (chemistry and physics) has been elected a 2008-09 Science Education for New Civic Engagements and Responsibilities (SENCER) Leadership Fellow by the National Fellowship Board of the National Center for Science and Civic Engagement. (2008)

• Drs. Robin Britt and Sandra Cesario (both nursing, Houston) have been named as 2008 American Academy of Nursing Fellows (FAAN).

• Dr. Manal Omary (chemistry and physics) received a Young Faculty Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).  She was one of only 24 in the nation and two in Texas to receive the $150,000 grant.  DARPA’s Young Faculty Award program is designed to seek out ideas from non-tenured faculty in order to identify the next generation of researchers working in microsystems technology. (2007)
  
  
• Dr. Mary Thompson (physical therapy, Dallas) received the 2007 Distinguished Educator Award and the 2007 President’s Award for Exceptional Contributions to the Section of Geriatrics from the American Physical Therapy Association.

• Dr. Young-Hoo Kwon (kinesiology) is the first person from the United States to serve as editor of Sports Biomechanics, the official journal of the International Society of Biometrics in Sports. (Term ends in 2010)

• Faisal Aboul-Enein (nursing, Houston) is part of a team of nurses from around the world who have launched the first-ever Evidence-based Nursing website called MORE (McMaster Online Rating of Evidence) EBN (Evidence-based Nursing) system. Mr. Aboul-Enein was an adviser and reviewer in launching the program, a collaborative work in conjunction with McMaster University in Canada. (2007)

• Joan Edwards and Dr. Sandra Cesario (both nursing, Houston) were delegates at the Women Deliver Global Conference in London. (2007)

• Dr. Lynda Uphouse (biology) was named a 2008 Piper Professor by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation.  The award honors outstanding teaching in Texas colleges and universities.  The foundation makes only 15 awards each year.  Dr. Uphouse is the ninth TWU faculty member to be named a Piper Professor since the award was established in 1958.
  
  
• Dr. Susan Adams (family sciences) received the Texas Counseling Association’s Presidential Award, the highest award presented by the TCA.  (2007)
  
  
• Dr. Nancy DiMarco (nutrition and food sciences) received the 2007 Distinguished Scientist Award from the Texas Dietetic Association.
  
• Karen Moreland (nutrition and food sciences-Houston) received the 2007 Outstanding Dietetic Educator Award from the Texas American Dietetic Association.
  
  
• Dr. Sandra Cesario (nursing-Houston) received the 2007 Innovation in Teaching Award from the Texas Organization of Baccalaureate and Graduate Nursing Education for “Concepts of Environmental Design,” a course she developed for doctoral nursing students.  The course is an interdisciplinary approach to designing healthcare environments.
  
  
• Joanna Lipoma (occupational therapy, Dallas) was recognized as Academic Educator of the Year at the 2007 Texas Occupational Therapy Association Mountain Central Conference.

Faculty achievement

• Dr. Kelley Moseley (health care administration, Houston) has been named the Joseph C. Valley Gerontological Professional of the Year. The award is presented by the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing a professional who has contributed to improving the quality of life for the elderly. (2008)

• Dr. JoAnn Danelo Barbour (educational leadership) is editor of Academic Exchange Quarterly, an internationally peer-reviewed journal that publishes articles that contribute to effective instruction and learning regardless of level or subject. (2007)
  
  
• Dr. JoAnn Danelo Barbour (educational leadership) received a Reviewer of the Year award from the Journal of Research in Leadership Education.  (2007)
  

• Dr. Judith McFarlane (nursing-Houston) received the Southern Nursing Research Society’s Distinguished Researcher Award in 2006.  The award is given annually to recognize the contribution of an individual whose established program of research has enhanced the science and practice of nursing in the Southern region.  Dr. McFarlane was recognized for her many years of research on the health implications of domestic violence among women.  In particular, she was honored for her trajectory of women who are abused during pregnancy.
  
  
• Dr. Dan Miller (psychology) has earned diplomate status in school psychology from the American Board of Professional Psychology.  The ABPP diplomate is the highest practice credential in psychology.
  
  
• TWU faculty developed the Theory of Occupational Adaptation, a treatment model taught in occupational therapy education throughout the world.
  
  
• Among TWU’s distinguished faculty are Fulbright Scholars Dr. Jim Williams, (sociology); Dr. Richard Shuster (music); Drs. Timothy Hoye and Harral Landry (history and government); Dr. Claire Sahlin (women’s studies); and Dr. Evelyn Curry (library and information studies); and Fulbright Senior Specialist Dr. Hugh Burns (English, speech and foreign languages).
  
  
• Dr. Phap Dam (teacher education) was appointed to the Dallas ISD Alternative Certification Program Advisory Board.  (Term ends Nov. 2008)

• Susan Eitel (family sciences) is a student/new professional appointed member of the Certified Family Life Education (CFLE) advisory board. The CFLE is a component of the National Council on Family Relations. (Term ends Nov. 2008)

• Dr. Anne Stiles (nursing) is a Member-at-Large and Director of Communications on the Southern Nursing Research Society Board of Directors. (Term ends in 2010)
  
  
• Joseph Pinson (music) has been a recipient of the annual Standard Award from ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) since 2000.
  
  
• Gladys Keeton (dance) is a past recipient of the prestigious Honor Award from the Southern District American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance Association.  This is the highest district award for service to the profession.
  
  
• Dr. John Flohr (Professor Emeritus, music) and Dr. Gladys Keeton (dance) were chosen in 2005 to represent music and dance for a five-year special task force on arts in Texas schools led by the Texas Commission on the Arts.

• Susan D. Ruppert, Ph.D., RN, associate professor of nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Nursing; and Pam Windle, RN, MS, nurse manager of the Post Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) at St. Luke's in Houston, were named as 2008 fellows of the American Academy of Nurse Practictioners (AANP).

• Dr. E. Ann Nalley is immediate past president of the 160,000-plus-member American Chemical Society.  She also was the first woman appointed to the Board of Pacifichem, an international organization of the Pacific Basin Chemical Society. (Term ends 2010).
  
  
• Maj. Gen. Mary Saunders, U.S. Air Force, Retired, was the first woman to serve as the director of transportation at the United States Air Force Headquarters.
  
  
• Maryellen Hicks was the first African-American and first woman to serve on the Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth.
  
  
• Sylvia Garcia was the first Hispanic woman elected to the Harris County Commissioners Court.

• Windy Sitton was the first female mayor of Lubbock.
  
  
• Dr. Millie Hughes-Fulford was the first female civilian scientist in space.
  
  
• Ann Williams is founder and artistic director of the Dallas Black Dance Theatre and a member of the Texas Women’s Hall of Fame.
  
  
• Louise Ritter won the 1988 Olympic gold medal in the women’s high jump.
  
  
• Dr. Therese Bartholomew Bevers is the medical director of clinical cancer prevention at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
  
  
• Dr. James H. Rimmer, is recognized internationally as the pre-eminent researcher/scholar in exercise physiology, especially as it relates to persons with disabilities.
  
  
• Dr. Melody Johnson is the first female superintendent of the Fort Worth Independent School District.
  
  
• Dr. Rosemary Luquire is senior vice president and chief nursing officer of Baylor Health Care System, Dallas.

• Michael Mayo is president of Methodist Dallas Medical Center.
  
  
• Capt. Lisa Ferguson, United States Air Force, is a past recipient of the Surgeon General’s Medal, the highest award of the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
  
  
• Dr. Helen Benjamin is chancellor of the Contra Costa Community College District in California.
  
  
• Lisa Womack was hired in 2005 as the first female police chief of Elgin, Ill., after serving as the first female police chief of Sugar Land, Texas.
  
  
• Dr. Orfelina “Fena” Garza is president of Houston Community College Southeast.
  
  
• Dr. Colleen Smith is the first female president of Cisco Junior College.
  
  
• Dr. Sheryl Smith Kappus is president of Hill College.
  
  
• Dr. Mary Shaw-Ridley is director of the Center for the Study of Health Disparities at Texas A&M University.
  
  
• Debbie Paganelli is president of Harris Methodist H.E.B. Hospital.
  
  
• Roger Rizzo is the neuroscience program director at Plaza Medical Center in Fort Worth.
  
  
• Gary Hamrick is the director of critical care, vice president and chief of nursing at Baylor Medical Center in Irving, Texas.
  
  
• Jennifer Neily is president of the Texas Dietetic Association. (2007)
  
  
• Jessica Setnick is an eating disorders specialist with a private practice in Dallas.

• Amy Goodson was one of five recipients of the Texas Registered Young Dietician of the Year award. (2008)
  
  
• Mary Carol Pomatto is named chairman of the Pittsburg (Kan.) State University Department of Nursing.
  
  
• Kathy Williams, vice president and news director for KRIV-TV in Houston, was awarded two Lone Star Emmys in 2008 — one a community service Emmy for the station's Predator Check franchise; the other for her participation on the documentary "The Intrepid," a look at the new military treatment hospital in San Antonio.

• Kathy Williams, vice president and news director for KRIV-TV in Houston, was named News Director of the Year by American Women in Radio and Television. It was the first year the Houston chapter included a best news director category. (2007)
  
  
• Lisa Niedermeyer is a professional dancer with the Jane Comfort Dance Company, touring nationally and internationally.
  
  
• Hannah Frieser is serving on the review panel for visual arts for the New York State Council on the Arts.  She is the director of Light Work, a non-profit organization in Syracuse, NY, that supports emerging and underrepresented artists working in photography and related media. (2007)
  
  
• Hannah Frieser was chosen to co-chair a Society for Photographic Education (SPE) national conference with Miriam Romais, executive director of En Foco.  The conference, tentatively scheduled for 2010, will focus on diversity and multiculturalism.  Ms. Frieser currently serves on the SPE’s board of directors. (2007)
  
  
• Dr. Joyce Swegle, professor of nursing in the Collin County Community College District, was named to the Dickinson Endowed Chair in Nursing.  The chair was one of two endowed chairs created in 2006, the district’s first.
  
  
• Debbie Paganelli is president of Harris Methodist H.E.B. Hospital.
  
  
• Mary Stowe is chief nursing officer of Children’s Medical Center Dallas.
  
  
• Polly Bednash is executive director of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing.
  
  
• Ramiro Salazar is director of the San Antonio Public Library.

• Audrey Fontenot is the 2007-08 president of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) Austin, Texas Section.

• Marilyn Bratcher Davis was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to a six-year term on the Texas State Board of Nursing. (Term expires in 2013.)
  
  
• Kay Alexander was appointed by Texas Speaker of the House Tom Craddick to the nine-member Commission on State Emergency Communications. (Term ends in 2014)

• Jose Zamora, MFA student in dance, was awarded a Jacob Javits Fellowship. He is one of only 30 university students in the country and one of only two in Texas to receive the award. (2008)

• Business students in TWU’s School of Management placed second in the 2007 Small Business Institute® Case of the Year Competition – Undergraduate Comprehensive Category.  Only six undergraduate awards are given each year.
  
  
• Graduate students in TWU’s nutrition and food sciences program earned a first-time pass rate of 98 percent on the American Dietetic Association’s registered dietician exam, a record for the Denton program.  (2007)

• Carolyn Barnes (marketing and communication) received the 2008 Distinguished Achievement Award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District IV. (2008)
  
  
• TWU received an Honor Award from in Professional Grounds Management Society’s 2007 Green Star Awards competition.  The award was given in the University and College Grounds category for exceptional grounds maintenance.

• For 52 consecutive semesters (that’s 25.5 years), student-athletes at TWU have achieved an overall team GPA of 3.0 or higher on a 4.0 scale. (Fall 2007)

• The TWU gymnastics team won the 2008 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championship in Shreveport, La. The national title is the ninth for the Pioneers, the most of any school in the history of USAG collegiate competition.
  
  
• Pioneers gymnast Courtney Arno-Templet won individual national titles on both the bars and the beam at the 2008 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate National Championships.
  
  
• TWU gymnastics head coach Frank Kudlac was inducted into the West Chester University Athletics Hall of Fame in February 2008. He competed as an all-around gymnast for West Chester and was team captain his senior year.
  
  
• TWU gymnastics assistant coach Lisa Klein was named the 2008 USA Gymnastics Women's Collegiate Assistant Coach of the Year.The TWU volleyball squad was one of 39 NCAA Division II volleyball teams to earn the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2007-08 academic year.
  
  
• Three TWU student-athletes received a 2007 Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar Award: Kelley Humphries, a May 2007 graduate, was chosen for the basketball first team for the third consecutive year.  Brisa Fuentes, a junior, was named to the gymnastics first team.  Romy Luna, a junior, was chosen for the soccer first team.  Diverse Issues in Higher Education magazine established the Sports Scholars Awards to honor both academic and athletic achievements of undergraduate students of color.
  
  

The university established its first graduate programs in 1930, and awarded its first doctoral degrees in 1953.  TWU opened the Institute of Health Sciences Dallas and Houston centers in 1957 and 1960, respectively.  A new, state-of-the-art Houston campus opened in the Texas Medical Center in 2006, and plans are under way to build a new Dallas Center by 2011.