Whether it’s preventative care, healing cuts and scrapes or tackling much larger issues, availability of health care is important. Luckily for those without easy access, there are people like Kathleen Reeve.  

Reeve, the Johnson Endowed Chair, not only serves as an associate clinical professor and coordinator of the University of Houston-Victoria Master of Science in Nursing program, she also works as a family nurse practitioner for a Katy clinic. She serves as a primary care provider to those without the means to access regular clinics.  

“I work with some great people at the clinic, and there is a real need for what we do,” Reeve said. “That’s really where my heart is.”  

Nursing is a lifelong love for Reeve, who got her start as a licensed vocational nurse. At the time, the profession was so popular that it was difficult to find available courses.  

“You basically enrolled in whichever one had an opening,” she said, explaining she later went on to become a registered nurse. “But I’ve always known this was what I wanted to do.”

The California native obtained her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas-Health Science Center at Houston and went on to earn both a master’s degree in oncology education and a nurse practitioner certification from the same school. A doctorate in public health from the University of Texas School of Public Health followed.  

Reeve has spent her lifetime learning, and she doesn’t plan to stop anytime soon.  

 “I think you’ll find most nurses are that way,” she said. “Technology, nursing theory, practices and laws are always changing, so you have to be able to adapt. You have to love learning.”  

UHV’s nursing program has adapted to changes since classes began in fall 2006. The university is working to expand its RN to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and add new programs. The school’s enrollment also is on the rise.  

 “I think the school is very dynamic,” said Reeve, who joined the UHV faculty in 2010. “It’s meeting well-identified needs in the communities we serve. One of the goals is to reach more people who want to go to school but don’t have access.”  

One way UHV is filling that gap is through having class availability not only in Victoria, but also in The Woodlands, Katy and Sugar Land.  

Reeve teaches face-to-face classes in both Katy and Sugar Land while also educating students elsewhere through Interactive Television. That growing use of technology in the classroom is a handy tool, but the human element is just as important, she said.  

 “I like that face-to-face time with my students,” she said. “I think it’s important for them to be able to identify with their peers and the faculty, too. It makes a difference.”  

The Faculty Feature is an online feature highlighting faculty members from each of the University of Houston-Victoria’s four schools. To nominate a faculty member, contact Paula Cobler, UHV interim director of marketing and communications, or call 361-570-4350.