UTMB School of Nursing Celebrates 120th Anniversary The University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing celebrated its 120th Anniversary with a luncheon at the Galveston Island Convention Center at the San Luis on Wednesday. Texas State Representative Lois W. Kolkhorst was the featured speaker. She was introduced by Pamela G. Watson, dean of the School of Medicine. "Could John Sealy ever dream about where we are today when they started the John Sealy School of Nurses?" Representative Kolkhorst asked. "It was the first this side of the Mississippi." Kolkhorst said that Galveston has proven itself to be resilient over the past 120 years. "So many people thought it would be through after Hurricane Ike," she said. "Well, obviously they had forgotten about the story of 1900 and the unbelievable accomplishment of saying 'We're just going to raise the island; we're going to make it higher than what God originally had, and build something called a Seawall'." She had praise for the Sealy & Smith Foundation, Representative Craig Eiland and others who worked to restore funding to the Galveston facility. "UTMB shall always survive, and shall always be a jewel in the crown of Texas," she said. Close | Home | Press Room |