Gary--Saundra Horne, RN program chair of practical nursing at the Gary campus of Ivy Tech Community College Northwest has been named the Ivy Tech Northwest President’s Award nominee. The award is given annually to one faculty member in each of Ivy Tech’s 14 regions that has shown excellence in teaching and community service. As the President’s Award winner, Horne is automatically nominated to represent Ivy Tech Northwest for the statewide Glenn Sample Award, to be presented in June.

Horne has been a full-time faculty member in the Health Sciences division since fall 1988. Prior to that, she worked throughout the continuum of healthcare within Northwest Indiana.

Horne received her diploma of practical nursing in 1964 from Purdue University in Hammond and her associate of science in nursing in 1970 from Purdue University in West Lafayette. She continued her education at the College of St. Francis in Joliet, IL where she received both her bachelor of science in nursing in 1979 and her masters of science in health administration in 1984.

She has worked in hospitals and in the health management arena. Her clinical and administrative work includes critical care nursing; director of quality review and pre-admission; regional manager for a large HMO responsible for discharge planning and case management; and currently, as program chair for the Gary campus practical nursing program.

She serves throughout the community in various clubs and organizations. She currently is president of Altrusa where she has spearheaded a literacy program for children and adults. She works with the Lake County Minority Health Coalition and the St. John Baptist Church Nurses’ Guild. Her work on behalf of the college includes life-long learning opportunities through workshops for nursing home staff. She also coordinates annual field trips for students to the State Board of Health, grants for workshops on sexual assault and the establishment of high school nursing clubs within the Gary Community Schools. Her spirit of volunteerism also spreads to her students who provide workshops for adolescents and offers service to women’s shelters in the area.