Sowards named top Faculty Member

Trinidad State Junior College selects Louise Sowards as Valley Campus 2012 Faculty Member of the Year

Louise Sowards, Director of Nursing for Trinidad State Junior College, was selected by Valley Campus faculty members as TSJC’s 2012 Faculty Member of the Year.

Sowards began her career with TSJC as a nursing instructor in 1996. She became the Nursing Program Coordinator for the Valley Campus in 2006, and was promoted to Director of Nursing in 2009.

She received her MSN from the University of Colorado, her bachelor degree from Regis University, and her ADN from Mesa State College in Grand Junction. Prior to joining TSJC she worked as a staff nurse and as an Assistant Director of Nursing for sixteen years.

TSJC’s nursing program is offered at both of its campuses and Sowards divides her time equally between Alamosa and Trinidad. She is enthusiastic about the nursing education the college offers. “We have a committed, dedicated faculty who believe in student success and student support, while maintaining high expectations and high standards,” she said.

Besides supervising a department of fifteen employees, she is also responsible for ensuring that the curriculum is followed, classes are scheduled, required reports are filed, and recruiting and orienting new faculty as the program continues to grow.

She also stays in touch with the nursing students and keeps up with her teaching skills by teaching a weekly ‘med-surg’ class on both campuses.

As the program director, she is always looking at the big picture for the future and working to advance the program. In 2009, the nursing programs of Trinidad State Junior College in partnership with Otero Junior College were awarded a competitive three-year federal grant to increase the number of nursing students that can be trained, thereby providing needed nursing personnel for rural southern Colorado communities. This grant has made it possible to add to the college’s training capacity by funding additional instructors and purchasing classroom infrastructure such as high tech simulation equipment.

An important goal that Sowards has had for the TSJC Nursing Program is very close to fulfillment. For the past two years the nursing program has been pursuing national accreditation by the National League of Nursing Accreditation. Following an extensive accreditation site visit last fall, TSJC satisfactorily met the requirements of the six standards required to advance to the next level of review to receive the national accreditation.

The next big project Sowards is working on is the development of a pilot program offering part-time evening and weekend nursing classes at the Trinidad Campus.

Despite the long hours and a challenging workload, Sowards says she has the energy to keep up with it because of her passion for nursing education. “I believe in students. I believe in Trinidad State Junior College. I believe in the community college philosophy and the accomplishments of nursing students I have witnessed,” she said.

She credits teamwork and the support of many for the program’s successes. “My faculty and administrative assistants, my deans, (TSJC) President Lopez…they help me in every way possible, and I would do anything for them,” she said.

Sowards, who grew up on a ranch in Alamosa, and her husband, also a native of the San Luis Valley, live in Manassa where they are still in the ranching business. “I could not do everything I do without the support of my family,” she said. When she is home she loves to cross stitch, knit, ride horses, and spend time with her five grandchildren.