Published Saturday, December 19, 2009 12:08 AM

Nursing degree candidates graduate

-- Eagle Staff Report

The first 19 graduates in the Texas A&M Health Science Center's College of Nursing on Friday joined the School of Rural Public Health for commencement.

The first-ever HSC December commencement ceremony was in the George Bush Presidential Library's conference center on the Texas A&M campus.

Speaker was State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin.

Along with the 19 nursing students receiving their Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree were 22 HSC-School of Rural Public Health students, including 19 with the Master of Public Health, two with the Master of Science in Public Health and one Doctor of Philosophy.

Opened in July 2008, the HSC-College of Nursing is helping alleviate the severe nursing shortage across Texas, compounded by an existing nursing workforce that is aging and ready to retire, officials said.

The first of its kind in the nation, the HSC-School of Rural Public Health admitted its inaugural class in 1998 and focuses on improving the health of communities with an emphasis on rural and underserved populations through education, research, service, outreach and creative partnerships.

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