50 Heroes: Senator Jane Nelson

Sen. Jane Nelson

You can’t walk far across campus without seeing Senator Jane Nelson’s impact on HSC. 

Since taking office in 1993, she has helped the university double in size, expand to six schools and lead a culture change around safety in health care with the founding of the Institute of Patient Safety, now known as SaferCare Texas. HSC even awarded her its inaugural Patient Safety Advocate Award in 2016. 

From the Health Pavilion to the Center for BioHealth to the Medical Education and Training building, Senator Nelson has been at the forefront of HSC’s growth. She successfully advocated for $80 million from The Texas Legislature to help fund construction of the Interdisciplinary Research and Education Building, a 173,000 square-foot, five-story building on Camp Bowie Boulevard designed to promote extraordinary teamwork.  

“The growth of the Health Science Center is rooted in Senator Nelson’s advocacy for our university,” HSC President Dr. Michael Williams. 

A champion for reducing the backlog of sexual assault evidence kits, she has been a long-time supporter of the university’s worldrenown Center for Human Identification. Sen. Nelson shares a passion with HSC to improve access to health care and protect vulnerable Texans. 

A school teacher turned legislator, Senator Nelson maintains the heart of an educator. Her passionate advocacy for health education make her an HSC Hero.


50th Anniversary Logo

Join us throughout 2020 as we celebrate the people, events and innovations that made UNTHSC all it is today — and look ahead to the next 50 years.

For the 50th anniversary, team members nominated people whose contributions make them HSC Heroes. Each week, a new Hero will be revealed.

View the list of all our Hero profiles published so far this year. There is a new one each week.

Recent News

Heads Up Day, Wednesday, February 12, 2020. Photo By Joyce Marshall
  • Community
|May 9, 2025

TCOM’s Academy of Program Coordinators hosting first Annual Education Conference

Rising up to fill a significant need, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Academy for Program Coordinators is holding its first annual education conference on the campus of The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth. Led by TCOM’s Graduate Medical Education Institu...
Picture1
  • Community
|May 8, 2025

Dr. Allen Solenberg Jr. joins College of Public Health

The College of Public Health at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth recently welcomed Dr. Allen Solenberg Jr. as the newest health administration and health policy associate professor. Solenberg served in the military for more than 20 years and is no strang...
David P. Siderovski0001
  • Our People
|May 7, 2025

UNTHSC's Dr. David Siderovski named top AI Leader for drug discovery

Dr. David Siderovski, professor of the Department of Pharmacology and Neuroscience at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth's College of Biomedical and Translational Sciences, has been named one of the region’s top 75 leaders in artificial intelligence by Dallas Innovat...
Img 3441
  • Community
|May 5, 2025

No additional views needed, TCOM students deliver a perfect match in radiology

Bucking the national averages and setting a new standard, students from The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth's Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Class of 2025 applying for radiology residencies went a perfect 10-for-10, besting the nationwide average of 81% of al...