Education news

University of North Texas adds 2 nursing degrees to combat industry shortage

Texas has a critical shortage of nurses right now.

www.unthsc.edu

The University of North Texas is adding two new undergraduate and graduate nursing degrees to address the shortage of nurses in Texas.

UNT’s board of regents voted on February 22 to add new nursing degree programs, which will be offered at UNT’s Health Science Center in Fort Worth, according to a release. Their decision is pending approval from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

The new degree programs are a traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing and a Master of Science in Nursing in Psychiatric Mental Health. If approved, they'll become available in fall 2025.

They'll join two degrees already proposed by UNT's College of Nursing: Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing (RN to BSN), and the MSN in Nursing Practice Innovation. They also are pending approval but are anticipated to begin in August.

The new undergraduate degree will entail a 20-month program, following two years of prerequisite coursework at a university or community college. The program will offer hands-on clinical experience alongside classwork.

The Masters is available in a full-time option for six semesters, or part-time for eight semesters.

Texas has the eighth lowest nurse-to-population ratio in the U.S., according to the release. In North Texas, there is a deficit of nearly 7,000 nurses.

There’s also what is drcribed as a "critical" shortage in mental and behavioral health specialists — in 2022, more than 160 Texas counties had no psychiatrist or psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner providing services.

health

Politics News

Dallas narrows down field for new city manager to 4 candidates

Photo by R K on Unsplash

This is an Dallasite's sign to launch that small business they've been dreaming of.

After six months without a city manager, the city of Dallas has narrowed down the field of replacements to four semifinalists including one serving as current interim city manager, plus candidates from Fort Worth, Michigan, and Georgia.

Dallas has been without a city manager since May, when previous city manager T.C. Broadnax left to take a job with the city of Austin. Since that time, Broadnax's former chief of staff Kimberly Bizor Tolbert has served as interim city manager.

The city retained Baker Tilly, a consulting firm, to recruit and compile candidates. (Baker Tilly famously erred in the brochure it created for the position by featuring a photo of the Houston skyline instead of Dallas; they've since replaced it with Dallas.)

A spokesperson for Baker Tilly did not respond to inquiries but according to D Magazine, an email listing the candidates has been sent to the Dallas City Council.

The semifinalists include:

Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, Dallas’ current interim city manager
William Johnson, an assistant city manager in Fort Worth
Mark Washington, the city manager of Grand Rapids, Michigan
Zachary Williams, a county chief operating officer in Georgia

All have more than 25 years' of public administration experience and have worked in similar capacities in their respective cities.

Before working in Fort Worth, Johnson was Baltimore’s transportation director and Atlanta’s deputy chief operating officer and public works commissioner.

Washington worked in Fort Worth and Austin before becoming Grand Rapids’ city manager.

Williams has mostly worked in Georgia at the county level, including serving as county manager in Fulton County and chief operating officer in DeKalb County.

Tolbert began working for the city in 1998, first as the city manager’s assistant and later in the aviation department. Broadnax hired her as his chief of staff in 2017.

Unlike the Mayor and the Dallas City Council, the city manager position in Dallas is not elected but is instead appointed by the city council, and is tasked with executing policies, overseeing the annual budget, and managing staff at city hall.

The council’s Ad Hoc Committee will choose finalists, introduce them to the public, and make an offer in early 2025.

politics