Dr. Carolina Huerta has spent more than five decades shaping nursing education in the Rio Grande Valley, beginning with Pan American University and continuing through UTRGV.
Huerta, professor and associate dean for academic affairs in the UTRGV School of Nursing, has taught more than 5,000 students and served as chair of the nursing department for 27 years.
Her influence extends through generations of nurses and faculty members, including Dr. Lilia A. Fuentes, who became dean of the UTRGV School of Nursing in 2023. Fuentes was once Huerta's student and later joined the nursing faculty after Huerta recruited her in 2004.
Huerta helped expand nursing education locally from a small associate degree program with six faculty members into a school with more than 60 faculty members and bachelor, master and doctoral offerings.
She began teaching in the Associate Degree in Nursing program at age 23, when the program was the only registered nursing program south of San Antonio and faced heavy demand from prospective students.
Huerta took on leadership roles in curriculum, standards, reporting and accreditation, helping secure national recognition and long-term stability for the program.
She later earned a Master of Science in Nursing from the University of Texas at Austin and a Doctor of Education from Texas A&M University. She also served in national accreditation roles through the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
Her career includes national honors such as the American Nurses Association Mary Mahoney Award and induction as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Huerta said the school growth was possible because of supportive leadership, teamwork and a shared commitment to expanding opportunity for an underserved region.
Source: UTRGV Newsroom
