Acting on the recommendation of President Robert E. Zeigler, the Alamo Community College District Board of Trustees has approved the appointment of Lula W. Pelayo, Ph.D., RN, Chairperson of the Department of Nursing Education, for the position of Dean of Professional and Technical Education at San Antonio College.

"I am delighted that Dr. Pelayo is taking on this important position," said Dr. Zeigler. "She has outstanding credentials, having served San Antonio College with distinction as Professor and Chairperson of the Nursing Education Department."

He added, "I also want to congratulate and thank Betty Larson on her retirement after eight outstanding years as Dean of the Professional and Technical Education Division and many more years of excellent work in the Child Development Department."

Under Dr. Pelayo's leadership, the Department of Nursing Education has continued its accreditation, with special commendations by the Board of Nursing Examiners for the State of Texas and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, which gave the program "Exemplary Status."

She was a member of the Nursing Education Distance Learning Initiative team that received national acclaim from the Consortium for community College Development for implementing the LVN to RN Career Mobility Program using distance education methodologies. The department has also received grants in recent years totaling $500,000 to improve the outreach and instruction of students.

Dr. Pelayo earned her Masters in Nursing from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio School of Nursing and her Doctorate in Nursing from the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing.

Prior to joining the faculty at San Antonio College in 1981, Dr. Pelayo served on the faculty of the Licensed Vocational Nursing School of the San Antonio Independent School District, was a school nurse at schools in the Edgewood Independent School District, and served as a staff nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at the Santa Rosa Children's Hospital.

Dr. Pelayo has received the NISOD Excellence in Teaching Award and is a member of Epsilon Theta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau and a Fellow of the American Nurses Association Minority Fellowship Program. Elected three terms as Chairperson of the Department of Nursing Education, she has served on a variety of college committees. She is a member of numerous professional organizations and is President of the Texas Association of Deans and Directors of Professional Nursing Programs and a past President of the San Antonio Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Nurses Association.

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Editors' Note:
A photo may be downloaded at: http://www.accd.edu/sac/pr/mediaphotos.htm.