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Office
of News and Information
January 12, 2004 |
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Bessie Brown did not wait until her senior year of high school to select a university to attend. She made her decision back in elementary school. “I visited The University of Texas at Tyler on a field trip when I was in the third grade and, ever since then, I was sure I wanted to would go to school there,’’ she said. Although UT Tyler transitioned from an upper-division to a four-year university in 1998, Brown followed her original plan, transferring to UT Tyler after completing junior college in Athens. She did alter one aspect of her original plan. The Palestine resident was prepared to make the daily commute to Tyler but was advised that she could work toward her degree locally. Students can complete undergraduate degrees in nursing and business management entirely at the Palestine Campus, which opened in 1995. Courses also are available in technology, health and kinesiology and liberal arts. Students receive instruction from on-site professors and through interactive video technology, which allows them to see and communicate with faculty at the remote site, ask questions and participate in classroom discussions. “I took all of my classes in Palestine, except for three classes that I took in Tyler,’’ said Brown, who graduated in May 2003 with a bachelor of business administration degree and is planning to attend law school. “I really enjoyed attending the Palestine Campus. The staff is friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed.’’ The UT Tyler Palestine Campus provides access to “a quality education closer to home,’’ said Debra Stauffer, who earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing at the campus. “I think more people are realizing what is being offered and are beginning to take advantage of this opportunity that they have right here at home.’’ Stauffer put her education on hold for several years after getting married and starting a family. When she returned to school, she appreciated not having far to travel. “Being able to attend class in Palestine was a real benefit for me because I live probably 30 minutes or so from Palestine, the opposite way from Tyler. I have four children and still had three of them at home, so it was much easier to come to the Palestine campus,’’ said Stauffer, who completed her bachelor’s in 1998, master’s in 2000 and works as a senior lecturer and site coordinator at the campus. Students also benefit from the low student-teacher ratio and overall academic atmosphere of the Palestine Campus, Stauffer added. “I think the faculty is very accessible and very approachable and there’s a good relationship between faculty and students.’’ Distance was
not a factor in Walter Wilmeth’s decision to attend the UT
Tyler Palestine Campus. He said his residence in Athens is just
as close to Tyler as it is to Palestine. Wilmeth said he was well prepared to enter the field of nursing after graduating in 1998 with a bachelor of science in nursing degree. He was offered a position at Palestine Regional Medical Center, where had completed his clinicals. “Because I had done my clinicals there, I was comfortable and familiar with the surroundings and the people,’’ added Wilmeth, a unit manager at the hospital. “It made the transition from school to work easy.’’ “The UT
Tyler Palestine Campus is a wonderful asset to our community,’’
said Jane Paxton, a public health registered nurse who completed
her bachelor of science in nursing degree at the Palestine Campus
in 1999. “We are very fortunate to have such a prestigious
university in our town and the opportunity to earn a four-year degree
here.’’
Contact person: Emily Battle, (903) 565-5604
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