Dr. Emily Cornett, R.N.

Dr. Emily Cornett, R.N. went to be with her Lord and Savior on February 3, 2012 at West Oaks Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center in Austin. Emily was born on June 3, 1932 in San Antonio, Texas. She was the daughter of the late Gilbert Cornett and Lillian Smith.

Dr. Cornett enjoyed a varied and distinguished career in nursing. She received four academic degrees including a baccalaureate degree in nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, TX.; a master's degree in nursing service administration from the University of Texas in Austin; a master's degree in counseling psychology from the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington; and a doctoral degree in nursing education from the University of Texas in Austin. Dr. Cornett also completed a summer study in Public Health Care and Medical Services at the University of Oslo in Norway as well as post-master's study in Physiological Nursing at the University of Washington in Seattle.

Dr. Cornett started her long nursing career in the Tuberculosis Unit at John Sealy Hospital in Galveston then she worked at the Shriner's Burn Institute. She entered the field of nursing education at the University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing in Galveston. From there, she went to the University of Washington in Seattle. From 1970 to her retirement in 1997, she was an Associate Professor at the School of Nursing at the University of Texas at Austin. She endeared herself to her many undergraduate and graduate students through her never-ending commitment to quality care of patients She was an outstanding teacher and clinical role model who would always make time to "be there" for her students. She was recognized with many awards for teaching excellence over her career.

Dr. Cornett's vast knowledge and expertise in medical-surgical nursing, curriculum and instruction and issues in nursing, as well as her leadership and initiative on numerous University-wide and School of Nursing committees have facilitated the School of Nursing's recognition as a top-ranked School in the nation. Her outstanding teaching and student advising have been recognized by such awards as the Billye J. Brown Award for Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching (twice awarded); the Ex-Students' Association Outstanding Teaching Award; and the Texas Nursing Students' Association Outstanding Faculty Award. Her ongoing, devoted advocacy on behalf of students in organizations such as UT NSA and the University of Texas At Austin Student Organization Committee has facilitated the academic and personal welfare of thousands of students to the extent that, upon one occasion, students presented her an engraved, bronzed plaque that read "Dr. Cornett, Thank you for our sanity." Her scholarly contributions to the School of Nursing and to the profession of nursing as a whole in the area of teaching and service have been recognized by such honors as the Award for Outstanding Service by Epsilon Theta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honorary Society; the Lifetime Achievement Award from District 6, Texas Nurses' Association; Alumnus of the Year, The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing Alumni Association; and induction into the Alumni Hall of Fame at The University of Texas Medical Branch School of Nursing, Galveston, Texas. Her textbook Dosages and Solutions: A Programmed Approach to Meds and Math, co-authored with Dorothy Blume and published by F.A. Davis has greatly facilitated students' learning regarding accurate administration of medications. She was also the initiator and driving force behind the successful establishment of the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing's Epsilon Theta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International, the international honorary society in Nursing. She provided outstanding leadership and service to two chapters of Sigma Theta Tau International, the Alpha Delta Chapter at the University of Texas at Galveston School of Nursing, and the Epsilon Theta Chapter at the University of Texas at Austin through such positions as President (Epsilon Theta), Vice-President (Alpha Delta), and Faculty Sponsor (Epsilon Theta). Dr. Cornett's leadership and service on an Epsilon Theta AD Hoc Key Award Task Force resulted in a Key Award for the Epsilon Theta Chapter from Sigma Theta Tau International headquarters, a distinguished honor and recognition for the Epsilon Theta Chapter. She provided exemplary community service leadership and direct hands-on health care through such activities as organizing and participating in health screening clinics four to six times a year at local community schools, business complexes, and other organizations upon their request, and organizing and participating in the annual "Health Fest" blood sugar screening on behalf of the citizens of Austin, especially the elderly population, and as a part-time Diabetes Nurse Educator at South Austin Medical Center. She also served as Chairman of the Texas League for Nursing's Finance Committee, and as Consultant to the Executive Board of the Texas League for Nursing's Student Association. Her devoted leadership and service on numerous School of Nursing and University committees, such as the Undergraduate Admissions Committee, the Undergraduate Curriculum Committee, the Scholarship Committee, the Peer Review Committee, and on such UT Austin general faculty standing committees as the Student Organization Committee and the Student Health Committee, has ensured an organized, caring, and equitable consideration of student and faculty welfare issues. During all of the years that Dr. Cornett worked at the University of Texas at Galveston and Austin Schools of Nursing, she volunteered to cover classes or clinical labs and assumed numerous other essential duties as needed by faculty colleagues or University administration. She never sought nor coveted the spotlight, preferring instead to devote her expert knowledge and clinical skills to a lifetime of teaching, service, and compassionate caring that has been and is cherished by untold numbers of people from every walk of life.

Dr. Cornett achieved success through hard work, amazing resourcefulness and sheer tenacity. She expected the same of others. She loved her family. She instilled values and morals, and she taught them the importance of choice and an education. She encouraged them to use their minds and to contribute to the goodness of life.

Dr. Cornett was preceded in death by her parents and her sister, Martha C. Glass. She is

survived by her extended family, Clifford and Kathy Smith; Christopher and Andrea Smith, Victoria and Ethan; Lisa and Mike Spencer, Kristyn and Landen; nephew John Glass and grandniece Emalee Glass.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 pm, Monday, February 6 at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home at 2620 South Congress Avenue in Austin. Services will be held on Tuesday at 10:30 am at the funeral home with burial to follow at 3:30 pm in Pearsall , TX.

Those wishing to make memorial contributions in honor of Dr. Cornett may do so be sending them to the University of Texas School of Nursing.