Texas Womans Spring 2024 Magazine
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
A PUBLICATION FOR<br />
ALUMNI, FRIENDS<br />
AND SUPPORTERS<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong><br />
TWU Pioneers<br />
share one thing<br />
in common:<br />
BIG DREAMS
Preparing<br />
for the Future<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
is Dreaming Big
INSIDE<br />
4<br />
PUTTING THE BIG “D”<br />
IN BIG DREAMS<br />
Monica Christopher Named<br />
Dallas Campus President<br />
6<br />
ESTABLISHING A NEW<br />
FRONTIER IN EDUCATION<br />
Dr. Melissa Tonn Opens Doors<br />
8<br />
PASSING ON THE TORCH<br />
Devoted alumna Mary E.<br />
Ridgway, PhD ’71, ’74 gives back<br />
24<br />
TRUE GRIT<br />
Sheila K. Kellagher, DPT ’81, ’17<br />
reflects on her path to success<br />
<strong>Texas</strong><br />
Woman’s<br />
SPRING <strong>2024</strong><br />
PUBLISHER: Lisa Rampy<br />
Interim Vice President, University<br />
Advancement and Alumni Engagement<br />
EDITOR: Brittany A. Connolly<br />
Director, Executive Communications<br />
CONTRIBUTORS: Michelle Cummings, Matthew<br />
Flores, Elizabeth Gustwick, Christopher Johnson,<br />
Kris Kaskel-Ruiz, Andy Palos, David Pyke, Amy<br />
Ruggini, Christy Savage ’17, Isabella Serrano,<br />
Korinne West<br />
ART DIRECTION AND DESIGN:<br />
Renee Victory<br />
Director, Design Services<br />
ILLUSTRATORS: Alem DeLaCruz ’19,<br />
Victoria Nall ’22<br />
PHOTOGRAPHER: Leo Gonzalez<br />
CHANCELLOR AND PRESIDENT:<br />
Carine M. Feyten, PhD<br />
PRINT PRESS: Slate Group<br />
©March <strong>2024</strong>, <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s University<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 1
The<br />
Opportunity<br />
is Too Big to<br />
Dream Small<br />
P<br />
ioneers at <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
come from a diverse range<br />
of backgrounds and bring<br />
different perspectives<br />
and rich experiences with<br />
them. Pioneers are resilient and dare to<br />
achieve what they dream. To honor this<br />
legacy and prepare future generations<br />
of TWU graduates for success, TWU<br />
Chancellor and President Carine M.<br />
Feyten announced the launch of Dream<br />
Big — The Campaign for <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
University — this past fall.<br />
Focusing on three pathways — Open<br />
Doors, Fuel Innovation and Cultivate<br />
Grit — <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s has a goal to raise<br />
$125 million to celebrate its 125-year<br />
anniversary in 2026.<br />
“Together, we will raise $125 million<br />
to ensure the pioneering spirit of the<br />
largest woman-focused university<br />
system in our nation continues<br />
advancing opportunities and leadership,”<br />
says Feyten. “One million dollars for<br />
every year of our history — that’s what it<br />
means to dream big.”<br />
2 TEXAS WOMAN’S
OPEN DOORS<br />
A door can be a powerful symbol.<br />
Among its many metaphors, a door<br />
can represent transformational<br />
opportunities, signaling a wide array<br />
of possibilities. At <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s, the<br />
many doors of opportunity are thrown<br />
wide open, empowering all students to<br />
dream big.<br />
From student scholarships, graduate<br />
assistantships, funding for study<br />
abroad opportunities and other forms<br />
of critical support, <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
provides the needed resources and<br />
educational opportunities for students<br />
to be successful and live productively.<br />
Scholarships and fieldwork<br />
opportunities have opened doors for<br />
current graduate student and single<br />
mother, Alicia Becker ’20, who earned<br />
a bachelor’s degree in family studies<br />
with a track in pre-occupational<br />
therapy before being accepted<br />
into the occupational therapy<br />
graduate program.<br />
Becker is training to become an<br />
occupational therapist because she<br />
“wants to help people regain the skills<br />
they lost, so they can return to their<br />
everyday activities.”<br />
“<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s scholarships have<br />
been vital to my degree completion as<br />
a single mother and working student.<br />
And, I will complete my fieldwork<br />
experience at AGAPE Clinic in Dallas,<br />
where I will engage in practice-based<br />
learning and provide quality healthcare<br />
to underserved people. Scholarships<br />
and the opportunity to train in the<br />
community are opening doors for me<br />
to new and innovative experiences,”<br />
says Becker.<br />
FUEL INNOVATION<br />
From a single building in 1901 to the<br />
first woman-focused university system<br />
in the nation, <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s continues<br />
to blaze its own trail.<br />
The Fuel Innovation pathway builds<br />
on transformational ideas. Expanding<br />
funding for research, establishing<br />
named academic positions and<br />
developing academic programs in<br />
high-demand fields and industries will<br />
bring the unique perspectives of <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Woman’s talented faculty and students<br />
to real-world problem solving and<br />
creative, ground-breaking solutions.<br />
David Pugh is a second-year graduate<br />
student in the physical therapy<br />
program. He chose <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
after earning a bachelor’s degree in<br />
biomedical engineering from <strong>Texas</strong><br />
A&M University, “because TWU has one<br />
of the best physical therapy programs in<br />
the country.”<br />
Pugh began blazing new trails his very<br />
first semester. With his background in<br />
biomedical engineering, he was invited<br />
to join Assistant Professor Hui-Ting Goh<br />
in researching the relationship between<br />
mental functions and motor movements<br />
in stroke patients.<br />
“I am proud to serve on this<br />
innovative research team,” says<br />
Pugh. “Adding to the collective body<br />
of research knowledge can make a<br />
real difference in patients’ lives. I am<br />
inspired by this work.”<br />
CULTIVATE GRIT<br />
Grit is the desire to see the job done<br />
right and the perseverance to see it to<br />
completion. <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s provides<br />
tailored environments that help<br />
cultivate a culture of grit. Expanding<br />
opportunities, supporting programs,<br />
and providing learning experiences<br />
and leadership opportunities gives<br />
students the confidence to make their<br />
dreams come true.<br />
Scholarship recipient Patty Lobos<br />
Valle belongs to the weekend/evening<br />
nursing cohort on the Dallas campus.<br />
An immigrant from El Salvador, she<br />
dropped out of school to support and<br />
care for her family members. Despite<br />
challenges, Lobos Valle never lost<br />
sight of her dream to earn a college<br />
education, and she returned at the<br />
community college level.<br />
“I transferred to TWU because the<br />
weekend/evening nursing program<br />
provides flexibility and allows me to<br />
continue to work,” says Lobos Valle.<br />
“My faculty mentors at <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
have taught me that no dreams<br />
are off limits. After I complete my<br />
undergraduate nursing degree, I plan<br />
to pursue my doctorate so I can pay it<br />
forward as a mentor and leader.”<br />
To learn more<br />
about the Dream<br />
Big Campaign,<br />
Visit dreambig.twu.edu<br />
“We celebrate every success. We’re there to<br />
lend a hand when anyone stumbles. We are<br />
committed to honoring the pioneering qualities<br />
of hard work, tenacity and taking risks to<br />
achieve important things.”<br />
Regent Ellen Amirkhan ’79<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 3
Putting the Big “D”<br />
in Big Dreams<br />
Monica Christopher<br />
Named Inaugural Dallas<br />
Campus President<br />
T<br />
exas Woman’s launched<br />
the nursing program at<br />
Parkland Hospital more<br />
than 70 years ago. Today,<br />
the university system is<br />
taking another historical leap forward<br />
by appointing the first president of the<br />
T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health<br />
Sciences – Dallas Center.<br />
Monica Christopher is a seasoned<br />
nonprofit executive and community<br />
relations professional with a disarming<br />
smile and extraordinary poise. Her<br />
engaging community spirit shines<br />
through in every conversation.<br />
It is her passion for <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s,<br />
combined with years of proven<br />
experience, that makes her uniquely<br />
qualified to contribute to TWU’s<br />
goal of expanding its influence and<br />
partnerships and blossoming into a<br />
thriving university system that will<br />
serve more Texans and have a greater<br />
impact on the Dallas region.<br />
MAKING HISTORY<br />
Christopher’s appointment marks the<br />
beginning of a new and exciting chapter<br />
for <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s and the communities<br />
being served.<br />
“Monica is an exceptional innovator<br />
and collaborator with a solid track<br />
record of successful fundraising and<br />
relationship building in Dallas, which<br />
will serve our university system<br />
well as we work toward growing the<br />
Dallas campus,” says <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
Chancellor Carine M. Feyten. “She<br />
demonstrates great passion for<br />
our shared mission with polished,<br />
energetic professionalism.”<br />
DEEP COMMUNITY ROOTS<br />
Christopher’s Dallas roots run deep,<br />
spanning 25 years of experience<br />
in philanthropy and community<br />
relations. She has an extensive<br />
background working with boards,<br />
foundations, nonprofits and<br />
corporations, and has held key<br />
leadership positions at Communities<br />
Foundation of <strong>Texas</strong>, WFAA and The<br />
Dallas Morning News.<br />
“I am over the moon about the<br />
opportunity to work for <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Woman’s, and to be the first president<br />
of the Dallas campus is really special,”<br />
Christopher says. “TWU has a<br />
distinguished history in Dallas, and<br />
I am honored and beyond thrilled to<br />
serve in this capacity. I look forward<br />
to working with the university’s<br />
talented faculty, staff and students<br />
to grow the campus, build on its<br />
legacy of excellence and bring greater<br />
awareness to the outstanding degree<br />
programs offered here.”<br />
BUILDING ON OUR STRENGTHS<br />
Today, the T. Boone Pickens Institute<br />
of Health Sciences – Dallas Center is<br />
a 190,000-square-foot facility that<br />
sits in the heart of the Southwestern<br />
Medical District. <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s is a<br />
notable contributor to the healthcare<br />
workforce, graduating an average<br />
of 2,000 nursing and allied health<br />
professionals each year.<br />
The Dallas campus is also home<br />
to the university’s renowned Stroke<br />
Center, which provides more than<br />
5,000 hours of clinical, neurorehabilitation<br />
services annually at no<br />
cost to members of the community.<br />
In addition to an MBA and graduatelevel<br />
healthcare administration<br />
programs, the Dallas campus offers<br />
undergraduate, graduate and<br />
doctoral courses and programs<br />
in nursing, occupational therapy<br />
and physical therapy.<br />
Asked how she is acclimating to<br />
her new role since taking the mantle<br />
Feb. 1, Christopher says, “The last<br />
few months have been inspiring<br />
and energizing. The faculty, staff<br />
and students have been welcoming,<br />
and I’ve been so impressed by how<br />
committed everyone is to TWU’s<br />
mission. I’m learning so much and am<br />
truly excited about the opportunities<br />
and challenges that lie ahead.”<br />
Boldly Go<br />
Learn more about our<br />
Dallas Campus<br />
twu.edu/dallas<br />
4 TEXAS WOMAN’S
MONICA<br />
CHRISTOPHER<br />
Inaugural Dallas<br />
Campus President<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 5
DONOR IMPACT<br />
Establishing a New<br />
Frontier in Education<br />
Opening Doors<br />
to Success for<br />
Foster Care Students<br />
“Take every opportunity<br />
you have to build the<br />
life you want. In foster<br />
care, so many decisions<br />
are not our own. But<br />
your education is yours.”<br />
Tomi Choyce, Business Administration ’25<br />
I<br />
n 2011, nationally<br />
recognized and boardcertified<br />
occupational<br />
medicine physician<br />
Dr. Melissa Tonn was<br />
appointed by then-governor Rick Perry<br />
to the <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s University Board<br />
of Regents.<br />
Through her leadership and service<br />
as a TWU Regent, Dr. Tonn learned<br />
about the Frontiers Program, which<br />
is designed to help students who have<br />
experienced foster care earn a college<br />
education. It would become a cause<br />
she would embrace as her own.<br />
“Right place, right time,” Dr. Tonn<br />
says. “Right thing to do.”<br />
National studies show 62% of high<br />
school graduates enroll in college, and<br />
63% of those complete their education.<br />
But among students who experienced<br />
foster care, only 33% will enroll<br />
and fewer than 10% will earn a<br />
college degree.<br />
Students who have experienced<br />
foster care face some unique<br />
challenges. They can’t rely on parents<br />
for help with applications, paying<br />
tuition, or support to deal with the<br />
demands of college, and frequent<br />
school changes due to movement<br />
through the system negatively<br />
impacts their ability to adequately<br />
prepare for college.<br />
In 2015, Dr. Tonn made her first gift<br />
to the Frontiers Program, and she<br />
has become one of its most generous<br />
supporters. Her gifts have provided<br />
the program with much needed<br />
funds for mentoring and counseling,<br />
as well as for helping with housing,<br />
food, financial aid, employment<br />
opportunities, career development,<br />
money management and social<br />
activities.<br />
But getting involved in the Frontiers<br />
Program was not enough. She also<br />
set up the Tonn Emergency Fund,<br />
which provides financial assistance to<br />
students who have aged out of foster<br />
care and face catastrophic events that<br />
may disrupt their education.<br />
Some of these students are “only<br />
one minor crisis away from dropping<br />
out,” says Dr. Tonn. “They lose their<br />
roommate or get sick or their car<br />
breaks down, and the first thing<br />
they’re going to have to do is drop out<br />
of school. That’s how the emergency<br />
fund was originally set up, for students<br />
who had some life event that they<br />
needed some bridge funding.” To date,<br />
Dr. Tonn’s support for the Frontiers<br />
Program and the Tonn Emergency<br />
Fund has exceeded $500,000.<br />
Even that was not enough.<br />
“I found out that a number of the<br />
students didn't go anywhere for<br />
Christmas,” says Dr. Tonn. “They were<br />
staying on campus, so I invited the<br />
students to come over for Christmas<br />
Eve. We had dinner one or two years at<br />
my house, one year at a restaurant in<br />
Snider Plaza, and we drove around and<br />
For more<br />
information<br />
visit twu.edu/frontiers<br />
looked at the Christmas lights.”<br />
Right thing to do, indeed.<br />
Dr. Tonn is president and chief<br />
medical officer of OccMD, LLC, a<br />
member of the American and <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Medical Associations and the Dallas<br />
County Medical Society, and past<br />
president of the American Academy of<br />
Disability Evaluating Physicians. She is<br />
a past president of the <strong>Texas</strong> College<br />
of Occupational and Environmental<br />
Medicine, a fellow of the American<br />
College of Occupational and<br />
Environmental Medicine and a member<br />
of the Parkland Foundation Board.<br />
6 TEXAS WOMAN’S
Pictured from left to right: Tomi Choyce ’25 Business Administration, Dr. Melissa Tonn,<br />
president and chief medical officer of OccMD, LLC and Khyra Parks ’18, ’24 Informatics<br />
“The biggest impact TWU’s Frontiers Program<br />
has had on my university experience is helping me<br />
see the opportunities that I didn’t know existed.”<br />
Khyra Parks, MS Informatics ’24<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 7
DONOR IMPACT<br />
Passing on the Torch<br />
Devoted TWU Alumna<br />
Gives Back<br />
BOLDLY<br />
GO<br />
> MARY E. RIDGWAY, PHD ’71, ’74<br />
R<br />
etired Professor Emerita<br />
of Kinesiology Mary E.<br />
Ridgway, PhD ’71, ’74 has<br />
held many titles during<br />
her 30-year career, from<br />
1976 to 2006, at the University of <strong>Texas</strong><br />
at Arlington (UTA), including professor,<br />
head coach and chief. She achieved a<br />
number of notable accomplishments<br />
including leading the NCAA Division<br />
I UTA Volleyball team to five national<br />
tournaments, leading the U.S.<br />
Wheelchair Sports Team in the 1992<br />
Barcelona Paralympics and serving<br />
as the chair of UTA’s Department<br />
of Kinesiology.<br />
Her favorite title, though, is teacher.<br />
“It’s the student — it’s all about them.”<br />
“I loved teaching undergraduates,”<br />
says Ridgway. She shares how she truly<br />
enjoyed being in the classroom and<br />
challenging her students to succeed.<br />
“At a young age, I was named the best<br />
faculty member at a UTA annual award<br />
ceremony, and I’m so proud of that<br />
accomplishment.”<br />
So, it’s not surprising that Ridgway’s<br />
gifts creating three endowed<br />
scholarships at <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s are<br />
devoted to students.<br />
“They’re to support undergraduate<br />
scholarships because that’s what my<br />
whole career was about,” says Ridgway.<br />
“We wouldn’t have research chemists or<br />
physicians if we didn’t get them in at the<br />
undergraduate level and support them<br />
along the way.”<br />
Ridgway received her master’s and<br />
doctorate degrees from <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
in physical education, then taught<br />
biomechanics and served on the UTA<br />
faculty in kinesiology. She was named<br />
the vice president for undergraduate<br />
academic and student affairs, becoming<br />
the third woman at UTA to serve in a<br />
vice president role.<br />
The Dr. Paula L. Scott Scholarship<br />
Endowment in Communication<br />
Sciences is named in honor of Ridgway’s<br />
partner, Paula L. Scott, EdD, who<br />
passed away in 2014 and served on the<br />
faculty as an associate professor in<br />
TWU’s Department of Communication<br />
Sciences and Oral Health.<br />
The second gift created the<br />
Dr. Mary E. Ridgway Scholarship<br />
Endowment, which supports<br />
kinesiology undergraduates. Ridgway<br />
devoted her career to the field of<br />
kinesiology and sport, and she still<br />
plays golf three times a week.<br />
The Dr. Helen J. Ridgway and Dr. Mary<br />
E. Ridgway Scholarship Endowment was<br />
created by her third gift to TWU and is<br />
named in honor of her sister, Helen J.<br />
Ridgway. “My sister was a genius,” says<br />
Ridgway. “She was seven years older and<br />
was my role model and mentor. Helen<br />
was just so humble.”<br />
Helen Ridgway was a biochemist and<br />
remained one well into her eighties until<br />
she passed away. The endowment in<br />
her honor supports students pursuing<br />
their bachelor’s in chemistry and<br />
biochemistry with a certification<br />
from the American Chemical Society.<br />
Ridgway’s generosity to support TWU<br />
students and her lifelong dedication<br />
to public education and sports are<br />
leaving a lasting impact and inspiring<br />
future professionals and scholars.<br />
“I thought, I would never be where<br />
I am today if it hadn’t been for TWU,”<br />
says Ridgway.<br />
8 TEXAS WOMAN’S
“Because of TWU, we know we<br />
can do anything we put our<br />
minds to, and we know how to<br />
work hard to achieve our goals.”<br />
Visit<br />
twu.edu/waystogive<br />
Mary E. Ridgway, PhD ’71, ’74<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 9
WHAT IF?<br />
What if Fashion Stepped<br />
Off the Runway?<br />
> REMY ODUKOMAIYA, MFA<br />
FASHION DESIGN LECTURER WITH YOUNG<br />
PATIENT AT SCOTTISH RITE FOR CHILDREN<br />
WE OFTEN THINK OF FASHION and<br />
envision models, runways, red carpets or<br />
designer labels. What if it could impact<br />
the needs of people who are experiencing<br />
homelessness? What if fashion could<br />
create garments for patients who are<br />
limited by medical devices or treatments?<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s Remy Odukomaiya<br />
and her students from the Mass<br />
Production Techniques course are doing<br />
just that. They’re smashing fashion<br />
boundaries and designing apparel for<br />
underserved communities.<br />
In 2022, Odukomaiya’s students<br />
created outfits designed specifically<br />
for the needs of those experiencing<br />
homelessness.<br />
The 2023 class crafted clothing for<br />
children in prolonged hospital treatments<br />
who were encumbered by medical devices<br />
and equipment. It’s not the glitz and<br />
glam of runway shows, but it’s a lot<br />
more rewarding.<br />
The Mass Production Techniques<br />
class visited Scottish Rite for Children<br />
in Dallas, one of the top pediatric<br />
orthopedic centers in the nation, where<br />
severe scoliosis patients reside to<br />
undergo treatments. To heal the spine, a<br />
child is fitted with a halo, which is braced<br />
around the chest and shoulders and<br />
bolted into the skull.<br />
Because the clothes kids love to wear<br />
like sweatshirts and sports jerseys are<br />
next to impossible to put on over the<br />
halo and brace, the project required<br />
a fundamental shift in the design and<br />
patterning of their clothing.<br />
“It’s a whole different level of<br />
thinking,” says Odukomaiya. “It’s not<br />
only about the aesthetics, it’s about<br />
functionality. We’re designing it, and<br />
we’re asking what the function is. Is it<br />
useful? Is it needed?”<br />
And this may just be the tip of the<br />
fashion design iceberg. How many other<br />
communities are out there and in need<br />
of the creative approaches from TWU’s<br />
Fashion Design and Merchandising<br />
students?<br />
Check it out<br />
NBC 5's Report on Odukomaiya's class<br />
10 TEXAS WOMAN’S
RESEARCH<br />
THAT<br />
MATTERS<br />
Learn how you<br />
can support<br />
research at TWU<br />
Send us a note at advancement@twu.edu<br />
> KATHERINE SHARP LANDDECK, PHD<br />
PROFESSOR OF HISTORY AND DIRECTOR<br />
OF PIONEERS ORAL HISTORY PROJECT<br />
Flying into<br />
the Archives<br />
TWU professor honored<br />
by the Smithsonian<br />
THE WOMEN AIRFORCE<br />
Service Pilots (WASP) of<br />
World War II have been the<br />
focus of study for <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Woman’s Professor of<br />
History Katherine Landdeck.<br />
The WASPs were the<br />
topic of her dissertation<br />
when she earned her PhD<br />
from the University of<br />
Tennessee.<br />
Landdeck turned decades<br />
of research and personal<br />
relations with these<br />
groundbreaking aviators<br />
into The Women With Silver<br />
Wings, her book about the<br />
women who flew airplanes<br />
for the United States during<br />
World War II.<br />
In 2023, the book earned<br />
Landdeck recognition from<br />
the Smithsonian National<br />
Air and Space Museum,<br />
which invited her to be<br />
the speaker at the premier<br />
lecture in aviation history,<br />
the Amelia Earhart Lecture.<br />
“It’s very humbling,”<br />
Landdeck says. “To have<br />
people you respect say it’s<br />
good is very meaningful.”<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 11
Innovation is in Our DNA<br />
A discovery of DNA sequences in the classroom inspires<br />
Associate Professor Pislariu to recruit students into research<br />
RESEARCH<br />
THAT<br />
MATTERS<br />
> CATALINA PISLARIU, PHD<br />
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, DIVISION OF BIOLOGY, WORKS IN HER RESEARCH LAB WITH<br />
TWO DOCTORAL STUDENTS, SHABAB MEHEHUB (LEFT) AND HALA SAMARA (RIGHT).<br />
MOLECULAR BIOLOGY, a<br />
phrase that didn’t exist until<br />
1945, is the study of how<br />
molecules interact with one<br />
another in living organisms<br />
to perform the functions of<br />
life, and it’s applicable across<br />
a swath of scientific fields.<br />
It is also the specialty of<br />
study for <strong>Texas</strong> Woman's<br />
Associate Professor of<br />
Biology Catalina Pislariu.<br />
Last year, Pislariu’s<br />
students didn’t just learn<br />
molecular techniques and<br />
instrumentation.<br />
They discovered several<br />
unique DNA sequences that<br />
were verified and published<br />
by the National Center for<br />
Biotechnology Information<br />
at the National Library<br />
of Medicine.<br />
“They were thrilled,”<br />
Pislariu says of her students.<br />
“The excitement this brings<br />
is when you have a project<br />
that has a purpose, starting<br />
with an initial question<br />
and finishing with an end<br />
product that gives you<br />
a scientific answer.”<br />
50%<br />
of biomedical scientists are women<br />
47%<br />
of biomedical scientists were people of color in 2021<br />
–zippia.com<br />
12 TEXAS WOMAN’S
Learn more<br />
about annual giving at<br />
twu.edu/annualgiving<br />
MY INSPIRATION<br />
DONOR<br />
A HARVEST<br />
BEGINS<br />
WITH A<br />
SINGLE SEED<br />
50 years<br />
of giving<br />
IT WAS PROBABLY WRITTEN<br />
in the stars that Glenda<br />
Brock Simmons’ life would<br />
be intertwined with <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Woman’s. Simmons ’61, ’62<br />
is an alumna and a long-time<br />
affiliate who grew up two<br />
blocks from the Denton campus.<br />
Simmons has the unique<br />
distinction of being the<br />
longest-standing member of<br />
the Redbud Society. Members<br />
of the university’s Redbud<br />
Society are donors who<br />
have given more than three<br />
consecutive years. Simmons<br />
has given annually for more<br />
than 50 years.<br />
“I have always wanted<br />
to contribute to TWU in<br />
whatever way I could,” says<br />
Simmons. “I have a wonderful<br />
life, and a lot of it was spent<br />
at the university.”<br />
Simmons’ association with<br />
TWU began in the mid-1900s,<br />
when her father asked for<br />
a work transfer to Denton.<br />
He wanted his wife and<br />
daughters to attend <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Woman’s.<br />
“I roamed the campus<br />
when I was 12 years old,” says<br />
Simmons. “My love for the<br />
university began there.”<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s was a home<br />
away from home for Simmons.<br />
“It never in a million years<br />
would have occurred to me<br />
that I would have a chance to<br />
teach at the university,” says<br />
Simmons. “That opportunity<br />
was just made in heaven.”<br />
After teaching subjects<br />
ranging from typewriting to<br />
investments for 20 years,<br />
she served as the vice<br />
president for student life for<br />
another 15 years. One of her<br />
proudest achievements was<br />
establishing family housing.<br />
Simmons isn’t sure when<br />
she started giving. “I know<br />
every penny counts,” says<br />
Simmons. “I gave small<br />
amounts when I was a student<br />
and when I first graduated.<br />
You give what you can give.”<br />
“I’ve done what my heart<br />
has told me to do. And, one<br />
thing it has told me to do is to<br />
be generous with TWU.”<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 13
1921<br />
WWII pilot, June Ellington<br />
Petto, stationed at the<br />
Camp Davis Army Air Field<br />
in North Carolina during<br />
the war.<br />
Photo: TWU Special Collections<br />
TWU Libraries is home to<br />
the official archive of the<br />
Women Air Force Service<br />
Pilots (WASPs).<br />
> <strong>2024</strong><br />
TWU will begin preparing<br />
the next generation of<br />
pilots Fall <strong>2024</strong>.<br />
Want to<br />
know more?<br />
Send us a note at<br />
advancement@twu.edu<br />
THEN AND NOW<br />
THE SKY ISN'T<br />
THE LIMIT<br />
It’s our destination<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S<br />
University has a long<br />
connection to women<br />
aviators. The TWU libraries'<br />
Women’s Collection is a<br />
repository of documents<br />
and artifacts of the Women<br />
Airforce Service Pilots<br />
(WASP), and scholars come<br />
to TWU to study the WASPs.<br />
Now, TWU will prepare<br />
pilots.<br />
This fall, TWU will open<br />
the Doswell School of<br />
Aeronautical Sciences<br />
to train new generations<br />
of pilots. It’s a program<br />
urgently needed to address<br />
an international pilot<br />
shortage. While senior pilots<br />
were reaching mandatory<br />
retirement, the airlines,<br />
facing financial strain<br />
because of the pandemic,<br />
offered early retirement<br />
to the next generation of<br />
pilots. However, when the<br />
world emerged from the<br />
COVID shutdown, a pilot<br />
deficiency was exposed.<br />
The TWU program will<br />
not just address that<br />
scarcity, it will create a<br />
more diverse group of<br />
aviators. The school will<br />
have its own aircraft and<br />
conduct flying lessons from<br />
a Denton-area airfield.<br />
14 TEXAS WOMAN’S
BOLDLY<br />
GO ><br />
TORION LEWIS ’24<br />
Nutrition major in the<br />
College of Health Sciences<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 15
THE GAME OF LIFE<br />
COLLEGE EDITION<br />
OPEN<br />
DOORS<br />
Want a leg up in the game<br />
of life? Studies show<br />
the value of a college<br />
education offers the<br />
best chance for people<br />
to secure sustainable<br />
economic opportunities.<br />
But there’s more — it<br />
keeps on giving, driving<br />
social mobility from<br />
one generation to<br />
the next, especially<br />
for students who identify<br />
as low-income or<br />
first-generation.<br />
BOLDLY<br />
GO<br />
Start Here w<br />
FIRST AND ONLY<br />
WOMAN-FOCUSED UNIVERSITY<br />
SYSTEM IN THE NATION<br />
52%<br />
first-generation student body<br />
#1 IN TX<br />
FOR STUDENTS WITH CHILDREN<br />
72%<br />
of incoming undergraduate<br />
students identify as minorities<br />
TWU is a top university<br />
for Latino/a student success<br />
THE ZERO TUITION<br />
GUARANTEE HELPS<br />
ELIMINATE ECONOMIC BARRIERS<br />
CULTIVATE<br />
GRIT<br />
To prepare for the long<br />
game, <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
provides a diverse and<br />
vibrant community<br />
focusing on the whole<br />
person and helping<br />
students thrive. A<br />
TWU education is one<br />
that elevates student<br />
prosperity. By cultivating<br />
a culture of perseverance<br />
and tenacity that<br />
prepares students for<br />
their chosen fields,<br />
expands professional<br />
and social networks,<br />
and plans for financial<br />
realities, TWU graduates<br />
are prepared for<br />
#7<br />
whatever comes next.<br />
16 TEXAS WOMAN’S
FUEL<br />
INNOVATION<br />
in the nation<br />
for best student<br />
experience<br />
RATED AS A<br />
MILITARY<br />
FRIENDLY<br />
SCHOOL SINCE 2009<br />
FRONTIERS<br />
PROGRAM<br />
44%<br />
of May 2023 graduates<br />
earned a bachelor’s degree<br />
DEBT-FREE<br />
What’s the end game? At<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s, we want<br />
to transform labor forces<br />
by giving more women<br />
equal opportunities to<br />
pursue and thrive in a<br />
wide array of careers that<br />
will enhance women’s<br />
economic security<br />
and prevent biases in<br />
industries. To do that,<br />
we’re focusing on<br />
innovative approaches<br />
to preparing students<br />
that can translate into<br />
higher-paying careers<br />
in fields where women<br />
have been historically<br />
underrepresented.<br />
83%<br />
of alumni employed or<br />
enrolled in graduate<br />
school within one year<br />
of graduation<br />
#2<br />
for highest median first-year<br />
earnings of bachelor’s degree<br />
graduates in <strong>Texas</strong><br />
JANE NELSON<br />
INSTITUTE FOR<br />
WOMEN’S<br />
LEADERSHIP<br />
Graduate<br />
17%<br />
of all critically needed<br />
nursing doctoral degrees<br />
in <strong>Texas</strong> (3-year average)<br />
TWU athletes<br />
EARNED OVER<br />
A 3.0 GPA<br />
83 semesters straight<br />
#2<br />
for economic mobility<br />
of all universities in North <strong>Texas</strong><br />
DOSWELL<br />
SCHOOL OF<br />
AERONAUTICAL<br />
SCIENCES<br />
Produce<br />
40%<br />
of all <strong>Texas</strong> allied health<br />
doctoral degrees<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 17
NEWS ROUNDUP<br />
Campus by Campus<br />
Learn what’s happening in Denton, Dallas and Houston<br />
> ABBY AND TODD<br />
WILLIAMS RECEIVE<br />
TWU LEADERSHIP AWARD<br />
At the spring Dallas<br />
Leadership Luncheon,<br />
philanthropists Abby<br />
and Todd Williams were<br />
awarded for their public<br />
education advocacy efforts.<br />
18 TEXAS WOMAN’S<br />
RANKING #1<br />
U.S. News & World Report<br />
ranked <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
among the nation’s best<br />
for social mobility and<br />
named the university to the<br />
publication’s “Best National<br />
University” and “Top Public<br />
Schools” lists.<br />
ABBY AND TODD WILLIAMS<br />
HONORED FOR LEADERSHIP<br />
At the March Dallas<br />
Leadership Luncheon,<br />
philanthropists and public<br />
education advocates Abby<br />
and Todd Williams were<br />
awarded the <strong>2024</strong> Virginia<br />
Chandler Dykes Leadership<br />
Award. All proceeds from<br />
the annual event support<br />
TWU graduate student<br />
scholarships.<br />
DENTON<br />
ANOTHER NASA WIN FOR TWU<br />
KINESIOLOGY STUDENTS<br />
The all-women space<br />
design team, dubbed Atlas,<br />
built an exercise device to<br />
prevent muscle atrophy<br />
and earned TWU’s fourth<br />
first-place finish in the<br />
NASA-sponsored statewide<br />
competition.<br />
TOP 10 GOLD MILITARY<br />
FRIENDLY DESIGNATION<br />
TWU was named a Top<br />
10 Gold Military Friendly<br />
School, the highest<br />
designation awarded to<br />
institutions that provide<br />
exceptional support to<br />
military members, their<br />
families and veterans.<br />
DALLAS<br />
MHA TEAMS EARN TOP PRIZE<br />
Two master’s in healthcare<br />
administration teams<br />
finished in the top three at a<br />
competition where students<br />
used evidence-based<br />
research to identify and<br />
recommend interventions to<br />
improve hospital programs.<br />
VANDERKOOI ENDOWED<br />
LECTURESHIP HITS<br />
The Vanderkooi Endowed<br />
Lectureship established in<br />
1994 to honor occupational<br />
therapy’s first program<br />
director, Fanny B.<br />
Vanderkooi, celebrated<br />
its 31 st anniversary at the<br />
annual event in February.<br />
HOUSTON<br />
PACT TO PRODUCE TEACHERS<br />
Houston ISD has awarded<br />
a $500K grant to TWU<br />
to support nearly 100<br />
teaching assistants toward<br />
bachelor’s degrees and<br />
teaching certificates<br />
to produce more <strong>Texas</strong><br />
public educators.<br />
CARS FOR KIDS<br />
Occupational therapy<br />
and nursing students<br />
partnered with <strong>Texas</strong> A&M<br />
engineering and medicine<br />
students to provide electric<br />
vehicles for children with<br />
special needs to help them<br />
move, socialize and play<br />
independently.
ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT<br />
Thank you to our alumni,<br />
friends and supporters<br />
who attended the campaign kick-off events on TWU’s campuses<br />
and the Maroon and White receptions across <strong>Texas</strong> and the nation.<br />
We invite you all to the next series of events.<br />
JOIN US AT ONE OF OUR UPCOMING EVENTS<br />
LUBBOCK, JUNE 9 | COLORADO SPRINGS, JUNE 23<br />
Learn more at twu.edu/alumnievents<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 19
Pioneers<br />
> STACIE D.<br />
MCDAVID ’80<br />
& ELLEN<br />
AMIRKHAN ’79<br />
TWU Regents<br />
Right on Track<br />
From Teammates to Regents<br />
ELLEN AMIRKHAN ’79 AND<br />
STACIE D. MCDAVID ’80<br />
arrived at <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s in<br />
the 1970s as track and field<br />
athletes. Little did they know<br />
that their time at TWU would<br />
lead to invaluable lifelong<br />
lessons and friendship.<br />
They first met at former<br />
head track and field coach<br />
and director of athletics Bert<br />
Lyle’s house, where they<br />
would become fast friends<br />
and roommates.<br />
“My superpower is the<br />
women I surround myself<br />
with, and it started with<br />
Ellen. When I first met her in<br />
1974, I thought, she’s brilliant.<br />
I had been around bright<br />
people, but I felt that I’d<br />
found my person, someone<br />
who makes you better and<br />
lifts you up. That was Ellen<br />
for me,” says McDavid.<br />
Throughout their time<br />
at TWU, the two women<br />
worked hard inside and<br />
outside of the classroom.<br />
Both credit their experiences<br />
to great mentors and strong<br />
work ethics from the “lessons<br />
and traditions we both<br />
gained from our immigrant<br />
families who became<br />
successful entrepreneurs<br />
in the U.S. and <strong>Texas</strong>,”<br />
says Amirkhan.<br />
Amirkhan’s grandfather<br />
immigrated from Armenia<br />
in 1909 and established a<br />
rug cleaning plant. McDavid<br />
grew up in Denton and was<br />
surrounded by family and<br />
friends from Lebanon.<br />
The two friends would<br />
go on to become highly<br />
accomplished entrepreneurs.<br />
Amirkhan took over her<br />
family’s Dallas-based rug<br />
business in 1980 and hasn’t<br />
looked back since. McDavid<br />
currently serves as CEO<br />
of McDavid Investments<br />
Company and has a long<br />
and successful track record<br />
of running businesses and<br />
serving on numerous boards,<br />
partnerships and charitable<br />
organizations.<br />
Both women find<br />
themselves full circle —<br />
working together and<br />
making important decisions<br />
as members of the <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Woman’s University System<br />
Board of Regents, where<br />
they set policy direction<br />
that ensures a quality TWU<br />
educational experience<br />
for all students.<br />
20 TEXAS WOMAN’S
BARBARA D.<br />
NUNNELEY ’75<br />
Distinguished<br />
Alumna<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s Roots<br />
A Family Legacy<br />
FOR DISTINGUISHED<br />
ALUMNA and TWU<br />
Foundation Board member<br />
Barbara D. Nunneley ’75,<br />
there was no question of<br />
where she’d attend college.<br />
The Nunneley family’s road to<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s began in the<br />
1940s, when her grandfather<br />
sold his West <strong>Texas</strong> ranch and<br />
moved his family of seven<br />
to Denton.<br />
“<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s is part of<br />
my family’s roots. My mother<br />
Mildred Nunneley ’47, ’48<br />
earned her bachelor’s and<br />
master’s degree from the<br />
then-<strong>Texas</strong> State College<br />
for Women. My aunt Rita<br />
Beth Whatley attended the<br />
university in the late 1940s<br />
but graduated from The<br />
University of <strong>Texas</strong> at Austin’s<br />
engineering program in 1945.<br />
My aunt Ann Whatley ’45<br />
and my sisters Karen Nunneley<br />
Young ’73 and Beth Nunneley<br />
Mazziotta ’80 are all<br />
TWU alumnae.”<br />
My sister Karen ’73<br />
“blazed the trail for me,” says<br />
Barbara. “She introduced<br />
me to professors and invited<br />
me to club meetings. The<br />
leadership opportunities at<br />
TWU were unparalleled.<br />
You grew into your own<br />
person at TWU knowing<br />
you were just as capable<br />
as anyone else in the<br />
classroom and developed the<br />
confidence to make decisions<br />
and the discipline to excel.”<br />
That discipline to excel<br />
led Nunneley to attend law<br />
school. Practicing for more<br />
than four decades, this<br />
award-winning attorney sums<br />
up her career succinctly, “The<br />
beauty and draw of being a<br />
lawyer is that it teaches you<br />
to think critically and to solve<br />
problems. Once you learn<br />
how to analyze a problem,<br />
you can find a solution to<br />
any situation.”<br />
Outside the courtroom,<br />
Nunneley has carried on<br />
another family tradition —<br />
ranching. She lives on 10<br />
acres in the small town of<br />
Bartonville with her horses.<br />
A family legacy and<br />
tradition may have brought<br />
Nunneley to the university,<br />
but it was at <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
where she found her own<br />
person and the confidence<br />
to light up the sky.<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 21
JADA CELSUR ’26<br />
Basketball #23<br />
“To be a part<br />
of the team<br />
and study<br />
kinesiology at<br />
TWU is a dream<br />
come true.”<br />
Gymnast Kaitlyn Hoiland ’25<br />
TWU ATHLETICS keeps<br />
racking up the accolades.<br />
The program continues to<br />
grow with more than 200<br />
student-athletes and nine<br />
teams ranging from artistic<br />
swimming to wrestling.<br />
Champions on and off the<br />
field, the department posted<br />
a GPA of 3.468 for Fall 2023,<br />
continuing a streak of 83<br />
consecutive semesters of<br />
a 3.0 GPA or higher. TWU<br />
also came in sixth out of<br />
304 Division II schools for<br />
MY SCHOLARSHIP MATTERED<br />
Inspiring Generations<br />
of Student-Athletes<br />
Agnes C. Talley Athletes Endowed Scholarship<br />
community service hours.<br />
Athletics Director Sandee<br />
Mott says it well, “Our team<br />
of amazing coaches is<br />
training future leaders with a<br />
championship work ethic.”<br />
Not only has <strong>Texas</strong><br />
Woman’s athletics<br />
undergone a dramatic<br />
transformation in the past<br />
decade, women’s sports<br />
at the nation’s collegiate<br />
and professional levels<br />
are breaking barriers and<br />
stepping into the limelight,<br />
shattering attendance and<br />
viewership records as they go.<br />
Recruiting the best and<br />
brightest student-athletes is<br />
a competitive sport in and<br />
of itself and often comes<br />
down to scholarship support.<br />
On average, 40% of TWU’s<br />
student-athletes are in need<br />
of financial support.<br />
Second-year kinesiology<br />
student and basketball<br />
champion Jada Celsur ’26<br />
says, “I’m so blessed to<br />
receive this scholarship and<br />
promise to continue to put<br />
100% into everything I do<br />
at TWU.” As a freshman,<br />
Celsur was a recipient of<br />
Oakley’s Newcomer of the<br />
Year and listed on the LSC<br />
All-Freshman Team.<br />
Early on, Agnes C. Talley,<br />
who graduated in 1945<br />
with a degree in physical<br />
education from what was<br />
then the <strong>Texas</strong> State College<br />
for Women, recognized the<br />
importance of women’s<br />
athletics. After establishing<br />
the Agnes C. Talley Athletes<br />
Endowed Scholarship, she<br />
ensured generations of<br />
Pioneers would have the<br />
funding support to compete<br />
as well as inspire future<br />
women athletes to pursue<br />
their dreams.<br />
Gymnast superstar Kaitlyn<br />
Hoiland ’25 can attest to<br />
this, “I’m so grateful for<br />
this scholarship and to be<br />
a part of TWU’s amazing<br />
gymnastics program.”<br />
22 TEXAS WOMAN’S
DID YOU KNOW?<br />
CAPPING OFF A<br />
TRADITION OF PRIDE<br />
Nursing is a Job of Many Hats<br />
Share your<br />
TWU tradition<br />
Email us at advancement@twu.edu<br />
ALUMNI AND STUDENTS<br />
nowadays often show their<br />
school pride with a T-shirt<br />
or a hoodie emblazoned<br />
with their university logo.<br />
When Claudia Dille ’69<br />
worked as a nurse, she<br />
showed her school pride<br />
with her <strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s<br />
nursing cap.<br />
“The cap was a way<br />
to express pride in your<br />
university,” says Dille, whose<br />
career as a nurse, educator<br />
and healthcare professional<br />
spanned 43 years.<br />
When Dille began her<br />
nursing career, the traditional<br />
uniform consisted of a white<br />
cap, white dress, pantyhose<br />
and white shoes. The uniform<br />
evolved to a pantsuit in<br />
the 1970s and the more<br />
comfortable medical scrubs<br />
in the 1990s.<br />
Each nursing school had<br />
its own unique cap. The caps<br />
came in a variety of shapes<br />
and sizes. Some were small;<br />
some were round; some had<br />
frills. Dille says the TWU<br />
nursing cap was a more<br />
traditional design. It had a<br />
wide front with a black stripe<br />
and crossed in back to form<br />
the cap.<br />
Students put the caps<br />
together, starching and<br />
folding the piece of white<br />
cotton into a cap.<br />
“It was quite an art to<br />
get the cap ready to wear,”<br />
says Dille. “The cap was a<br />
distinguishing characteristic,<br />
letting people know that you<br />
were a nurse,” says Dille.<br />
Dille held onto her cap.<br />
“It is a symbol of<br />
my career.”<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 23
True Grit<br />
Small Town,<br />
Big Dreams<br />
B<br />
orn and raised in the<br />
Lone Star State, TWU<br />
Distinguished Alumna<br />
Sheila K. Kellagher,<br />
DPT ’81, ’17 is a skilled<br />
physical therapist and passionate<br />
entrepreneur. “I’m a Paris, <strong>Texas</strong> girl<br />
and am the first woman in my family to<br />
earn a college degree,” she says.<br />
Kellagher’s journey from small-town<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> to founding her own company and<br />
developing it into a multi-million-dollar<br />
business began with great mentors.<br />
“In high school, so many of my<br />
teachers were TWU graduates. My<br />
health education teacher, Joe Francenia<br />
Hicks ’40, helped me find my passion for<br />
health and physical education.”<br />
That’s how Kellagher found herself on<br />
TWU’s Denton campus in the late 1970s,<br />
interviewing for a spot in the physical<br />
therapy undergraduate program. She<br />
had spent her summers volunteering<br />
as a candy striper at the local hospital<br />
and was inspired by the work of physical<br />
therapists. The interview didn’t end the<br />
way she’d hoped, but she knew what she<br />
wanted and persevered.<br />
“I stuck with my plan, earned a<br />
4.0 GPA my first two years at TWU,<br />
and was accepted into the physical<br />
therapy program my third year. I was<br />
also accepted into what was the Basic<br />
Master’s Program," she says.<br />
NAVIGATING THE FUTURE<br />
After graduating, she worked as a<br />
physical therapist at Presbyterian<br />
Hospital in Dallas.<br />
“I wanted to help more people, so<br />
I developed a business plan to open<br />
my own clinic," Kellagher says. She<br />
presented her business plan to mentors,<br />
including her father, who managed a<br />
clothing store for more than 40 years,<br />
her mother, who owned and operated a<br />
health foods store, and a neurosurgeon<br />
at Presbyterian Hospital.<br />
“Sharing my business plan and laying<br />
the groundwork for my own company is<br />
when I learned the value of a network,"<br />
she adds.<br />
Her mentors guided her along the way<br />
and her colleagues in the healthcare<br />
sector offered to send her patients.<br />
To get the business started, she<br />
applied for a loan at 10 different banks<br />
and was rejected nearly every time.<br />
“It was important that I keep trying,"<br />
she says.<br />
She was approved for a $20,000 loan<br />
in 1982 and given three years to pay it<br />
back. The business grew to two physical<br />
therapists in year two, three clinics in<br />
year five and 25 clinics in year six. She<br />
paid off the loan in just one year.<br />
INNOVATION AND DETERMINATION<br />
In the late 1980s, Kellagher observed<br />
how elderly patients struggled to<br />
receive treatment due to transportation<br />
difficulties. She thought, “why don’t we<br />
just go to them?” Her company began<br />
“TWU instilled in me<br />
a hunger for lifelong<br />
learning. I wouldn’t<br />
trade my experiences<br />
for anything. Every<br />
TWU graduate is<br />
empowered to do<br />
whatever they put their<br />
minds to, and we have<br />
the determination to see<br />
our dreams come true.”<br />
Sheila K. Kellagher, DPT ’81, ’17<br />
to build an infrastructure that allowed<br />
physical therapists to treat patients<br />
in their homes and living facilities. By<br />
1992, Kellagher’s company had 2,000<br />
employees across 250 clinics in six states.<br />
She always remained connected to<br />
<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s and was appointed to the<br />
TWU Board of Regents in 1994 and served<br />
as chair from 1998-1999. She describes<br />
the experience as “an honorable and<br />
empowering one that made me so proud.”<br />
Kellagher returned to TWU and earned<br />
her doctorate in physical therapy in 2017.<br />
Today, she serves as principal partner of<br />
TruCare Solutions and a member of the<br />
TWU Foundation Board.<br />
24 TEXAS WOMAN’S
SHEILA K.<br />
KELLAGHER ’81, ’17<br />
Distinguished<br />
Alumna<br />
What inspires you<br />
to support TWU?<br />
Send us a note at advancement@twu.edu<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S 25
<strong>Texas</strong> Woman’s University<br />
University Advancement<br />
1605 N. Bell Ave.<br />
Denton, TX 76204<br />
Scan with your smartphone<br />
camera to view the digital edition.<br />
UPCOMING EVENTS<br />
THE CAMPAIGN FOR<br />
TEXAS WOMAN’S UNIVERSITY<br />
June 9<br />
LUBBOCK, TX<br />
THIS IS OUR MOMENT TO SHAPE THE UNIVERSITY’S FUTURE<br />
and to magnify the impact it has made for nearly 125 years — this<br />
is our moment to Dream Big. In honor of the university’s 125th<br />
anniversary in 2026, we have launched a $125 million comprehensive<br />
campaign, the first in TWU’s history. This effort will carry our<br />
purpose — educate a woman, empower the world — forward for<br />
decades to come.<br />
June 23<br />
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO