TTUHSC Distinguished Alumni honored - Amarillo Globe-News

Physician who protected religion members from gunman awarded posthumously with apical TTUHSC Presidential Award for heroism

John Cheng, M.D., was known to galore arsenic a protector — protector of family, patients and galore times protector to strangers. Cheng’s heroic actions saved dozens of lives connected May 15, 2022, erstwhile helium tackled a gunman who opened occurrence connected members astatine the Geneva Presbyterian Church successful California. Cheng was killed successful the onslaught that near 5 different parishioners wounded.

Cheng’s woman Elise was presented the archetypal TTUHSC Presidential Award for Heroism to grant him posthumously astatine the TTUHSC Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony connected Oct. 21. Cheng, the lad of a physician, was respected for his cognition of nutrition and sports medicine, and was an accomplished maestro successful Martial Arts instruction.

TTUHSC President Lori Rice-Spearman, Ph.D., said it is rare, extracurricular of the subject oregon archetypal responders that idiosyncratic gives their beingness to support others — an eventual sacrifice.

This grant represents the highest grant bestowed upon the TTUHSC alumni.

“Dr. Cheng’s heroic acts reflected his lifelong dedication to service,” Rice-Spearman said. “In a infinitesimal of crisis, helium placed the lives of his neighbors earlier himself — and by each account, that enactment of selflessness and courage, which outgo him his life, saved the lives of galore others. It was heroism successful its purest form. We are profoundly arrogant to grant the illustration and the bequest helium leaves behind.”

Cheng was a 1995 postgraduate of the TTUHSC School of Medicine. He completed his residency astatine UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and the Kaiser Permanente Southern California successful Los Angeles. He besides completed a fellowship astatine the Kaiser Permanente Southern California successful Fontana. He earned a estimation arsenic an energetic pupil and nonmigratory who was profoundly devoted to diligent attraction and carried that aforesaid ethic to his signifier successful Southern California, wherever helium served the assemblage arsenic a beloved household and sports medicine physician. Cheng’s colleagues astatine South Coast Medical Group said his heroism saved truthful galore people, not lone astatine that church, but passim his career.

“On behalf of my family, I would similar to convey our Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center household for honoring my husband, John, successful specified a heartfelt and meaningful manner,” Elise said. “We judge the Texas values of kindness, empathy and humility John learned increasing up successful Marshall and attending schoolhouse successful Waco and Lubbock molded his presumption connected beingness and his imaginativeness connected the doctor-patient narration helium strived to create. For my husband, his patients were extended household members and helium partnered individually with them to motivate and enactment their wellness attraction journey. John’s genuine transportation with his patients volition stay the hallmark of his aesculapian legacy.”

Kiper earns Presidential Distinguished Alumni Award

TTUHSC besides presented the Presidential Distinguished Alumni Award to Valerie E. Kiper, DNP, MSN, R.N., NEA-BC.

“Dr. Kiper’s contributions to nursing is remarkable,” Rice-Spearman said. “Her enactment speaks for itself successful presumption of her expertise arsenic a nurse, her spot successful facing adversities and her compassion to service others who stock her passionateness for nursing. We are honored to observe her successes arsenic a practitioner, businesswoman, mentor, philanthropist and champion of each things TTUHSC.”

Kiper received her Doctorate of Nursing Practice successful Executive Leadership from TTUHSC School of Nursing successful 2013. She has 43 years of nursing acquisition and 37 years of wellness attraction absorption acquisition successful acute attraction settings serving successful assorted enforcement nursing enactment roles and firm enactment roles wherever she was instrumental successful creating needed work lines, caller nursing attraction models and nursing enactment infrastructure. She is progressive successful assorted nonrecreational organizations wherever she has held enactment positions, and she has served connected the Texas Organization of Nurse Leadership Board of Nursing’s Eligibility and Disciplinary Advisory committee, American Organization of Nursing Leadership Legislative committee and the Texas Board of Nursing Differentiated Essential Competencies committee.

She besides was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to the Texas Office of Prevention of Developmental Disabilities Executive Committee. Kiper holds a certification successful nursing medication from American Nurses Credentialing Center.

Kiper has been with TTUHSC School of Nursing since 2016 arsenic an subordinate prof for the RN-BSN program. In 2021, she was named the archetypal determination dean for the TTUHSC School of Nursing successful Amarillo.

In 2016, Kiper founded the Panhandle Great 25 Nurses, a collaboration betwixt respective Panhandle wellness attraction facilities, nursing organizations, section nursing schools and schoolhouse districts. To date, the Panhandle Great 25 Nurses has provided much than $75,000 successful nursing scholarships and recognized much than 150 outstanding nurses successful the Texas Panhandle. After being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), she has worked tirelessly to rise wealth for Team Gleason to assistance this nationalist enactment supply exertion and assistive devices to those affected with ALS, and to bring consciousness to this fatal disease.

Alumni grant list

TTUHSC deans presented the pursuing idiosyncratic schoolhouse alumni awards:

• Jerry H. Hodge School of Pharmacy:
• Leadership Award — Shawn E. Hodges, Pharm.D.
• Research Award — Kaytlin E. Krutsch, Pharm.D.
• School of Nursing:
• Community Advocacy Award — Gordon P. Mattimoe, DNP, APRN
• Leadership successful Health Care Award — Pamela J. Bradshaw, DNP, R.N.
• School of Health Professions:
• Department of Rehabilitation Sciences Award — Marsha D. Rutland, P.T., BSPT
• Distinguished Alumni Award and Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences Award — Jeremy J. Donai, Au.D., Ph.D.
• Department of Healthcare Management and Leadership Award — Christopher S. Williams
• School of Medicine:
• Distinguished Alumni Award — John Cheng, M.D., and Amy L. Stark, M.D.
• School of Medicine Community Outreach Award — Timothy J. Benton, M.D.
• Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences:
• Doctorate of Philosophy Award — Ebtesam Attaya Islam, M.D.

“I'm truthful precise arrogant of our full alumni household and the enactment they bash each time to alteration wellness attraction done innovation and collaboration,” Rice-Spearman said. “Our Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are truthful deserving of this recognition, and we’re honored to observe them for being specified astonishing ambassadors for our university.”