TWU Recognizes Distinguished Alumni

3/28/03

DENTON — Texas Woman's University will recognize four distinguished alumni during Honors Convocation ceremonies Thursday, April 10, and at an awards luncheon on Saturday, April 12. The honorees are Dr. Corina Gardea, Dr. Cecelia May Moreno, Dr. James H. Rimmer and Mary Beth Foshee Scull.

The ceremonies are part of TWU's Homecoming celebration, to be held April 10-13. Convocation will take place at 10 a.m. April 10 in the Margo Jones Performance Hall, located at Oakland Avenue and Pioneer Circle on the Denton campus. The Distinguished Alumni Awards Luncheon is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. April 12 in the southeast ballroom of Hubbard Hall. The cost of registration prior to March 25 is $10; after March 25, the cost is $20. For more information, call the TWU Office of Alumni Relations at (940) 898-2586, visit www.twu.edu/alum or call the 24-hour information line at (940) 898-2534.

Corina Gardea

Dr. Gardea graduated from TWU in 1975 with a bachelor of science degree in dental hygiene. As a student at TWU, she developed a bilingual program in dental health for use by local school and community groups. Following graduation, she served as faculty and department chair of the dental hygiene program at El Paso Community College.

Dr. Gardea later attended the University of Texas at Austin, where she received a master of education degree and a doctorate through the Community College Leadership Program, which specializes in the preparation of community college presidents.

In October 2001, Dr. Gardea was named president of Phoenix College, a campus with a student enrollment of 13,000 in Phoenix, Ariz. She previously had served in a number of key administrative roles during a 16-year tenure with the Dallas County Community College District. During her tenure, Dr. Gardea oversaw the Rising Star Scholarship program, which provides scholarships to Southern Dallas County high school students who are ethnically diverse and typically are the first in their family to enter college.

She received the 2002 She Knows Where's She's Going Award presented by Girls Incorporated of Metropolitan Dallas and the WB33's Kids Development and Achievement Fund.

Cecilia May Moreno

Dr. Moreno received her bachelor's degree in health, physical education and recreation from TWU in 1966, and her master's in 1968. She also earned her certification as a school counselor from TWU, her administrator certification from East Texas State University, and has passed the Certified Public Accountant exam. She holds a master's in business administration from Laredo State University, and earned her doctorate in educational leadership from Texas A&M University.

She has worked in the Laredo Independent School District for 37 years, beginning as a teacher and currently serving as executive director for Support Services.

Dr. Moreno served on the Laredo City Council for 10 years, and formerly served as mayor pro-tem for the city. She currently serves on the Teachers Retirement System of Texas Board of Trustees, and is a member of the National Council on Teacher Retirement. She also is on the board of SER-National, an organization devoted to job training and redevelopment. She is a former chairperson for the Texas Municipal Group Benefits Risk Pool Board — the first woman and the first Hispanic to serve in that position. She also is a former member of the Governor's Commission for Women.

Dr. Moreno is a member of the Laredo Commission for Women Hall of Fame and the LULAC Hispanic Heritage Hall of Fame.

James Rimmer

Dr. Rimmer, a nationally recognized leader in health promotion research for persons with disabilities, graduated from TWU in 1982 with a doctorate in kinesiology with a specialization in adapted physical activity/exercise physiology. He currently is a professor in the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

He also is project director for the Center on Health Promotion Research for Persons with Disabilities, a federally funded program that is examining the effects of exercise and health promotion on persons with stroke, diabetes, arthritis, spinal cord injury, and Down Syndrome. He also serves as director of the National Center on Physical Activity and Disability, which distributes information on physical activity and disability.

Dr. Rimmer has received more than $22 million in grants for disability and rehabilitation research. He wrote the textbook Fitness and Rehabilitation Programs for Special Populations, and also has authored more than 60 refereed journal articles and book chapters on exercise physiology, health promotion and disability.

Dr. Rimmer was a keynote speaker at TWU's “Pioneers of the Past: Trailblazers of the Future” conference in 2000.

He is an appointed member of several boards, including the American College of Sports Medicine's Registered Clinical Exercise Physiology Board, Life Fitness Scientific and Medical Advisory Board, Illinois Attorney General's Recreation Access Committee and the Illinois Cardiovascular Health Partnership.

Mary Beth Scull

Ms. Scull received her bachelor's degree in journalism at TWU in 1947. She is a second-generation TWU graduate, as her mother graduated from the university (then known as the College of Industrial Arts) in 1921.

While a student at TWU, Scull served as editor of the Daily Lass-o. She later worked as a reporter and photographer for the Champaign-Urbana, Ill., newspaper. A series of articles on a trip to Europe ran under the title of “Scull-Duggery” in The Dallas Morning News. She also wrote for the First International Congress on Oral Surgery in London. Her coverage of the ladies' events was published for the Royal College of Surgeons in England and the American Society of Oral Surgery.

Ms. Scull served as a member of the TWU Board of Regents from 1985 to 1991, and was one of the TWU regents to participate in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. She also is a past president of the university's alumni association and is a current member of the TWU Old Main Society. Ms. Scull also served on TWU Presidential Search Committees in 1985 and in 1993.

The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce presented Ms. Scull its Pathfinders Award for her extensive volunteer service. She also is listed in the International Directory of Distinguished Leadership.

###

For Further Information Contact:

Karen Treat
Senior Copywriter
Tel: (940) 898-3456
e-mail: ktreat@twu.edu