Strodtbeck Honored at Spring Commencement

by Adriana R. Garcia

DR. FRANCES STRODTBECK, presented as the 2002 Alumna of Distinction, was the keynote speaker at the morning graduation on May 11, which included the graduates of the School of Business and Applied Arts and Administration and the School of Nursing and Health Professions. Congressman Henry Bonilla was the keynote speaker at the afternoon ceremony.

Dr. Strodtbeck has made outstanding contributions to the field of nursing through research, education and practice. She has over 25 years of neonatal nursing experience performing various nursing roles. She currently directs the Advanced Neonatal Nursing Program at Baylor University's Louise Herrington School of Nursing.

Her extensive dissertation research on the epidemiology of hospital-acquired viral infections in hospitalized, premature infants was one of the pioneering studies that addressed the growing problem. Since then, Dr. Strodtbeck has become one of the leading, nationally recognized experts on subjects related to neonatal infections, neonatal immunology and advanced practice nursing.

She presently serves as the co-editor of an evidence-based clinical journal entitled, Newborn & Infant Nursing Reviews. Dr. Strodtbeck also has served as the President of the National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN).

Her most recent accomplishment was her election as a fellow to the American Academy of Nursing, which is composed of nursing leaders who have made significant contributions in the field of nursing.