UT Tyler Unveils Sculpture Honoring Faculty Contribution to Nursing
December 17, 2004
The University of Texas at Tyler presented the Anne Cannon DeWitt Healing Hands sculpture, which honors one of its nursing faculty’s role in the nursing profession, President Rodney H. Mabry announced.
DeWitt, who is the executive director of nursing and allied health education and research at UT Health Center at Tyler, also is a lecturer in nursing at UT Tyler.
The sculpture features hands of various sizes and ages representing the many stages of healing involved in nursing.
It was commissioned by DeWitt’s husband, Tom, in recognition of her dedicated service to health care.
“It takes an unusual personality to be a lifelong nurse and my wife certainly has that, and the interaction she’s had with other nursing professionals at UT Tyler has been rewarding for her. Although the sculpture recognizes my wife, I’m honoring all of those who have chosen to serve humanity in this way,” Tom said.
Graduates of Vanderbilt University, the DeWitts appreciated the many sculptures that helped create that campus’ character and atmosphere. Tom felt that with its recent growth the time was right to add more of that character at UT Tyler.
“Anne and I have been married for 35 years and have three healthy children, so we are richly blessed and I wanted to do something for the university,” said Tom.
During a visit to the UT Tyler Longview University Center, he noticed the sculpture created by Dorothy Kennedy, and after discussing the project with Kennedy, the Helping Hands concept was born.
The sculpture is comprised of three groups of hands set on a rough background. The hands depict a nurse taking a pulse, a nurse holding an infant’s hand and two hands reaching down to pull another out of pain, according to Kennedy.
The rough background symbolizes the pain of each patient, and the hands are coming from the pain to heal, she added.
