Spotlight on Betty Halff
NAC member since 2003 and member of the NAC Development Committee
Betty Halff with her late husband, Howard.
Established with eight members in 1983, the Nursing Advisory Council (NAC) has grown to more than 50 active members who are distinguished leaders from throughout San Antonio and the South Texas community. Their focus is to promote excellence in educational and nursing care programs through fundraising activities and by establishing partnerships with local organizations toward increased community visibility for the School of Nursing.
Every member of the NAC plays an integral role in the success of the School of Nursing. One of the hardest-working members of the NAC is Betty Halff.
In 2010, the Halff family made a personal commitment of $100,000 to establish the Howard and Betty Halff Endowed Professorship in Nursing Excellence for Patient Care through the estate of Betty’s late husband, Howard. An additional gift of more than $44,000 was made to fund scholarships for faculty in the School of Nursing to pursue a doctorate in nursing degree. The Halffs have also funded numerous scholarships for nursing students through the establishment of a living endowment.
Betty Halff was also instrumental in establishing a long-standing partnership between the School of Nursing and Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas Inc. (MHM). In 2010, MHM awarded $3.9 million to the School of Nursing for technology enhancements and student and faculty support.
“Betty Halff is one of our most steadfast supporters,” said Eileen Breslin, Ph.D., RN, FAAN, School of Nursing dean. “Being a former nurse herself, Betty personally understands the importance of educating and training future nurses. She is a passionate and generous visionary who is making it possible for us to further educate nurses in our graduate programs so we can accommodate more students in our undergraduate programs.”
Mickey Parsons, Ph.D., RN, is the holder of the Howard and Betty Halff Endowed Professorship in Nursing Excellence for Patient Care. She is a faculty member in the Graduate Administration Program in the Department of Health Restoration and Care Systems Management, and coordinator of the Doctor of Nurse Practitioner Organizational Systems for Executive Nurse Leaders program.
“I am honored and indebted to the Halffs for their dedication to the future of nursing leadership, education and patient care,” Dr. Parsons said. “Because of their support, I am able to focus my career in academia on the development of future nursing leaders who are ready to lead within the complex, oftentimes tumultuous and ever-changing health care environment locally, regionally and nationally.”
