Nancy Smith Hurd (seated) admires yellow roses that were a gift from (left to right) Eileen Breslin, Ph.D., dean of the School of Nursing; Carlos Rosende, M.D., chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology; and President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D.
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Contact: Will Sansom, (210) 567-2579

SAN ANTONIO (June 19, 2008) — Students receiving their education and training in the UT Health Science Center San Antonio School of Nursing and patients with low vision who are assisted by the Department of Ophthalmology are benefiting greatly from the Texas-size generosity of Nancy Smith Hurd of San Antonio.

Mrs. Hurd, a descendant of early Texas settlers whose late husband, John Gavin Hurd, served as the U.S. ambassador to South Africa, last year established the Nancy Smith Hurd Endowed Nursing Scholarship with a gift of $500,000. The School of Nursing named the Nancy Smith Hurd Auditorium in her honor.

Making lives better
On May 21, at a celebration in the Hurd Auditorium, Health Science Center President Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., announced a new gift of $500,000 from Mrs. Hurd to the Department of Ophthalmology. “In the spirit of her early Texas roots, Nancy is making lives better for those around her,” Dr. Cigarroa said.

The gift, one of the largest in Department of Ophthalmology history, will support activities of the Nancy Smith Hurd Chair in Low Vision Research. This endowed chair will enable the Health Science Center to recruit an ophthalmology faculty member involved in low-vision care and research.

Maximizing daily living
“Low vision is an area in its infancy and one in which a lot of progress needs to be made,” Carlos A. Rosende, M.D., professor and chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology, said. “Mrs. Hurd’s gift will help us develop new technologies to maximize the daily-living abilities of individuals challenged by low vision.”

The Hurd Chair faculty recipient will be integrally involved with the Lions Low Vision Center of Texas, an interdisciplinary center providing low-vision evaluation, resources and rehabilitation. The center is a community partnership of the Department of Ophthalmology, Lions Clubs International and the Department of Occupational Therapy in the Health Science Center School of Allied Health Sciences.

A lifeline for students
Mrs. Hurd’s generosity to the School of Nursing is helping many students, including several who thanked her in person at the recent celebration. “This semester I worked full time in addition to attending the School of Nursing,” Nelly Tellez, a student in the accelerated program, said. “Mrs. Hurd’s gift will help me go to school while only working part time.”

Eileen T. Breslin, Ph.D., dean of the School of Nursing, added that Mrs. Hurd’s gift is transforming students’ lives and enabling the school to recruit a key faculty member.

Geriatric nursing expert
“We are so fortunate to have a dedicated School of Nursing Advisory Council and philanthropists such as you,” Dr. Breslin said. “The nation is in the midst of a major national nursing faculty shortage, and your gift, while helping students, also provides vital funds to recruit a faculty member whose focus is geriatric nursing. Thank you.”

Dr. Cigarroa noted that the Nancy Smith Hurd Auditorium is “a very special place in the soul of our university,” where nursing students are oriented and where nursing history is chronicled in panels of an exhibit currently on display.

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The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio is the leading research institution in South Texas and one of the major health sciences universities in the world. With an operating budget of $576 million, the Health Science Center is the chief catalyst for the $15.3 billion biosciences and health care sector in San Antonio’s economy. The Health Science Center has had an estimated $35 billion impact on the region since inception and has expanded to six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. More than 23,000 graduates (physicians, dentists, nurses, scientists and allied health professionals) serve in their fields, including many in Texas. Health Science Center faculty are international leaders in cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, aging, stroke prevention, kidney disease, orthopaedics, research imaging, transplant surgery, psychiatry and clinical neurosciences, pain management, genetics, nursing, allied health, dentistry and many other fields. For more information, visit www.uthscsa.edu.