Center for Nursing Research (CNR)
The Center promotes collaborative research and provides a research-centric environment in which faculty and students can increase their research productivity. Its primary goals are to enhance the quality of research on both an individual and institutional basis, and to attain clinical research leadership that will, in turn, attract leading nurse researchers and extramural funding to support the various programs of research. Fully one-third of our faculty is engaged in extramurally funded research. Currently, annual expenditures average approximately $1.7 million with the majority funded by the NIH. Other federal agencies such as the Department of Veteran’s Affairs and the Alzheimer’s Association, in addition to corporate and industry sponsors, as well as professional nursing organizations and private sources provide funding for research grants. The Center for Nursing Research’s 22,000 square feet are dedicated to biomedical laboratory space including tissue culture and radioisotope rooms, a support lab, several behavioral labs, a biomedical engineering lab, a controlled environment lab and core support services.

The University of Texas Health Services-Houston at the School of Nursing (UTHS)
The Health Services mission of The University of Texas Health Services-Houston is to provide educational and research opportunities for faculty and students while providing high quality, cost-effective ambulatory health care services. UTHS provides services at its clinic as well as outreach activities in the community through services at work sites and other settings. Services provided include comprehensive primary care across the life span, occupational health, health education, travel medicine and laboratory services. UTHS is the provider of employee health care for the UT Health Science Center, Texas Woman’s University, University of St. Thomas students, and for multiple (45) employers throughout the Houston area. Graduate students from the Schools of Nursing and Public Health use the clinic as a clinical practice site. UTHS has a current annual patient volume of 12,000.

Clinical Facilities
Clinical learning experiences are available with other University of Texas affiliations in the Texas Medical Center. The Memorial Hermann Hospital System, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, The Methodist Healthcare System, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Texas Children’s Hospital, Christus St. Joseph’s Hospital, Harris County Hospital District, The Veterans Affairs Medical Center-Houston, and Harris County Psychiatric Center, as well as a wide variety of other health care facilities, are utilized by the School of Nursing. In addition to these extensive hospital resources, students have opportunities for learning experiences in other facilities, such as neighborhood health centers, nursing homes, day care centers, city and county health departments, mental health facilities and physicians’ offices and clinics. A unique opportunity for clinical training exists in UT Health Services-Houston, a nurse-managed clinic.

Center for Education and Information Resources (CEIR)
The Center is committed to researching and providing the most advanced instructional technology resources to the School of Nursing faculty and students. The center continually implements the latest instructional and medical electronic applications. This provides tomorrow’s nurses with the technological insight they need to become leaders in today’s medical arena and assists the faculty in remaining on the cutting edge of nursing education. The CEIR also provides information and resources regarding educational media design and development and video conferencing. The learning resource center supports students and faculty with reference and reserve material, three onsite computer labs, and both online and onsite instructional technology needs.

Center on Aging
The Center on Aging is in its 19th year as an interdisciplinary center, focusing on improving the quality of life for an aging society through research, education, patient care, community service and institutional development. The Center engages in research related to stroke survivors and their caregivers, pressure ulcer prevention and treatment, health-related quality of life, and other aging-related topics. Gerontological nursing content is integrated into the nursing curriculum, and shared through workshops, online conferences, and community presentations. The Center advocates for quality patient care through the Long Term Care Ombudsman Program that serves over 75 assisted living and 250 nursing facilities in Harris County.

Center for Substance Abuse Education,
Prevention and Research
The Center promotes education, evidence-based practice and research on substance use disorders. The Addictions Focus, a graduate subspecialty in the psychiatric mental health track, is offered through the Center. The Center provides direction for national multidisciplinary faculty initiatives to foster substance use competencies in the health professions. Federally-funded research studies focus on preventing substance abuse in adolescents, exploring mindfulness-based stress-reduction as an adjunct to recovery and examining the relationship between alcohol use and elder self-neglect. Research collaborations involve Baylor College of Medicine, UT M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, UT School of Medicine, and a number of community partners.

Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE)
The primary purpose of the Center is to foster faculty development, responding to the need to provide the School of Nursing faculty and colleagues with resources and support to enhance their teaching ability and ensuring that our students have well trained and scholarly teachers. Educational activities sponsored by the CTE aim at promoting teaching excellence and scholar-ship to enhance the School’s ability to fulfill its primary mission of education. The CTE was founded on the beliefs that superior teachers are agents of change, and that excellence in teaching results in better student performance and retention, improves student satisfaction, and enhances institutional visibility and public perception.