SHSU College Of Health Sciences

The nursing faculty shortage is one of the biggest bottlenecks in healthcare today, but the SNAPPI model is actively proving that when we innovate together, we can turn bedside expertise into clinical faculty capacity.

A Bearkat innovation is getting national attention!

The SHSU School of Nursing's SNAPPI program was featured by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) for its work expanding clinical education opportunities and helping grow the next generation of nurses.
By connecting students with experienced healthcare professionals in real-world settings, SNAPPI is helping prepare practice-ready graduates while strengthening the healthcare workforce across Texas.

We're proud to see the impact our faculty, students and partners are making.

Huge thanks to our partners moving the needle with us: 🔹 Regulators & State Agencies: National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), Texas Board of Nursing, and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board 🔹 Healthcare Systems: HCA Healthcare (HCA Houston Healthcare NW), Memorial Hermann Health System (The Woodlands & Cypress locations) (The Woodlands & , Houston Methodist (The Woodlands), and St. Luke's Health (The Woodlands).

Read the full feature on how we are scaling clinical faculty capacity here: 👉 https://bit.ly/3QzTXWd

Big Bearkat congratulations to Lilibeth Al-Kofahy, Clinical Professor in the School of Nursing, for receiving SHSU's 2026 Faculty Excellence Award for Non-Tenure Track Excellence in Teaching!

Her passion for teaching and dedication to our students make a difference every day. We are proud to have her as part of the COHS family. 🧡

🧡 The School of Nursing expansion and renovation of The Woodlands Center is coming along well! The $14 million dollar project will greatly expand the SON'S simulation capabilities and will provided updated classrooms to eventually serve 70% more Nursing students per cohort.

The School of Nursing team is working to meet the nursing workforce shortage head on by developing more nurses who are even better trained to provide compassionate care to us all. The expansion/renovation project will be completed in the Fall semester.

We can't wait to see our students in these new learning spaces!!!!

🏆 Big congratulations to our SHSU Public Health students!

At the Texas Public Health Association (TPHA) Annual Conference, students Giselle Centeno, Naa Adeley Adjei, and Taslin T. represented SHSU through oral research presentations—and we're excited to share that our students tied for first place and received a cash award for their presentations!

Their work grew out of an Academic Community Engagement course, giving them the opportunity to apply classroom learning to real-world public health challenges and share their findings with professionals from across Texas.

We're also proud of our faculty, who presented on innovative approaches to building teamwork skills in public health education through a project supported by the SHSU Teaching and Learning Center and developed in partnership with the Academic Success Center and Career Success Center.

Experiences like TPHA show how SHSU students can gain hands-on experience, present at professional conferences, build their résumés, and make an impact before graduation.

Your research journey could start here. 🧡

At ACSM 2026, alongside faculty mentors and collaborators, SHSU students presented research on firefighter health, nutrition, physiological stress, occupational performance, and tactical readiness—gaining hands-on experience and sharing their work on a national stage.

SHSU's Dr. Drew Gonzalez not only presented research alongside our student team but also served as chair and presenter for the symposium, "Bridging Gaps in Tactical Nutrition: A Food-First, but Not Food Only Approach to Improve Health, Performance, and Readiness."

Experiences like ACSM show what's possible when students get involved in research: presenting at conferences, connecting with experts, and contributing to work that can improve the health and performance of first responders and tactical professionals.

The future of tactical athlete research is bright. 🔥💪

Swipe to see 30 years of growth. 👏

📸 Photo 1: 1996 — Dr. Mario Muñoz attends his very first American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) conference in Cincinnati as a recent master's graduate.

📸 Photo 2: 2026 — Back at ACSM, this time in Salt Lake City, as a Fellow of the College.

What started as a graduate student attending a national conference grew into a career dedicated to research, teaching, mentorship, and advancing the field of exercise science.

For SHSU students, this is a reminder that today's classroom, lab, or conference experience could be the beginning of your own 30-year journey.

Research. Network. Present. Explore. You never know where it might take you. 🧡

Big news, Bearkats! 🎉

The SHSU Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program has officially received Provisional Accreditation status from ARC-PA!

This exciting milestone means we're ready to welcome our first class of 40 future PAs in August 2026.

Students in the inaugural cohort will learn in our new Health Professions Building in Conroe, gaining hands-on experience through innovative coursework, simulation training and clinical partnerships designed to prepare them for careers in healthcare.

We're incredibly proud of everyone who helped make this happen and can't wait to see the next generation of healthcare professionals get started.

Additional information about the program and admissions process can be found on the program's webpage. For more information about clinical accreditation, visit the ARC-PA Official Website. https://www.arc-pa.org/

Read the PR: https://bit.ly/434GHf5

🎉 Future Nurses, This Is Your Moment! 🩺
Applications for the School of Nursing open Monday, June 1st and close September 1st!

🎉 A pretty special morning for COHS 🧡

Today, Dean Zapalac stopped by to welcome our MSAT students as they kicked off ATTR 5310: Clinical Evaluation and Assessment Fundamentals with Dr. Mary Barnes Williams — officially making it the FIRST class ever held in our new Health Professions Building (HPB)! 🎉

This class is one of the fundamental courses for our newest cohort of MSAT students and they were super excited this morning! This space will now train the next generation of certified athletic trainers in the state that has the highest need in the U.S. for qualified ATCs.

After years of planning and construction, seeing students learning in this space makes it all feel real. And yes… celebratory donuts were absolutely required 🍩

We are so excited to welcome all of our COHS students, faculty, and staff into HPB this summer and fall. We can’t wait to make memories in this building together 🧡

Congratulations to COHS student Lily Kaldschmidt on completing her internship with Montgomery Physical Therapy! 🩺🎉

During her experience, Lily was immersed in a fast-paced, patient-centered clinical environment where she observed and assisted with a variety of therapeutic interventions, including post-surgical rehabilitation and sports injury recovery. Working alongside a dedicated clinical team helped strengthen her passion for physical therapy while providing meaningful hands-on exposure to real-world patient care.

We are proud to see our students gaining experience that bridges classroom learning with clinical practice, while building the confidence, communication skills, and professional foundation needed for future success in healthcare.

Lily has also recently begun a new role as a Physical Therapy Technician at the Conroe location of Montgomery Physical Therapy an exciting next step in her journey toward becoming a physical therapist! 💪🧡💙

Congratulations, Lily, on this incredible accomplishment and continued growth in the field!