2003 Alumna of Distinction for Professional Achievement and Service in Mission

ELOISA G. TAMEZ, RN, BSN 1968, Ph.D., F.A.A.N. Presented Dec. 13.

Sister Kathleen Coughlin, CCVI and UIW Vice President for Institutional Advancement, with Alumna Eloisa G. Tamez.

Eloisa G. Tamez, RN, Ph.D., F.A.A.N., is a native of the Texas Rio Grande Valley and is currently an assistant professor at The University of Texas-Pan American in Edinburg. Her entry into the academic world follows notable success in nursing practice at various locations and with diverse populations in the United States, Puerto Rico, Central and South America, and various positions through her commission in the United States Army Reserve, Nurse Corps and the Department of Veterans Affairs. A diploma graduate of the St. Mary’s School of Nursing in Galveston, Dr. Tamez earned her bachelor’s of science in nursing at Incarnate Word in 1968, and the master’s and doctorate from the University of Texas.

In San Antonio, Tamez held staff and management positions at Santa Rosa Medical Center and the Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans Hospital. She continued her career in Veterans Affairs for 27 years, and was assistant chief nurse in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and chief nurse at Hot Springs, S.D., and Cleveland, Ohio. In 1995, in Columbus, Ohio, as assistant chief nurse, she was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She has also been adjunct associate professor for the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences, South Dakota State University School of Nursing, Toledo Medical College Department of Nursing and Kent State University Department of Nursing.

Two of the most coveted awards she has received are induction in 1994 as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She is the fourth Mexican-American and the sixth Hispanic so named. In the same year, she received the “A” Proficiency Designator, the highest recognition of professional leadership and accomplishment in the Army Medical Department. A member of numerous nursing organizations and honored by many national and international listings, she is also the president for District 26 of the Texas Nurses Association and has held national office as vice president of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses and editor of The Hispanic Nurse, which she named.