In the 25 years since Shawna Nesbitt, M.D., M.S., joined UT Southwestern, she has observed numerous changes as the institution has grown and earned worldwide recognition for its clinical excellence, research, and education.

“It’s not just about all the new buildings,” says Dr. Nesbitt, Professor of Internal Medicine and UTSW Vice President and Chief Institutional Opportunity Officer. “It’s a transformation of the campus, the culture, the community.”

In offices, clinics, and classrooms, she says, employees are more engaged and excited about their work: “People who work here are proud. You can feel a difference; it is palpable.”

The thousands of dedicated individuals doing the important clinical, research, and educational work – including longtime employees who have helped shape the institution’s growth and success – will be honored during UT Southwestern Employee Recognition Week celebrations in June.

In appreciation of their service, faculty and staff members achieving milestone tenures will be recognized at special events. This year, 185 individuals have been invited to attend a June 9 breakfast or a June 10 luncheon in honor of 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, and 25 years of dedicated work. Of these, 108 will be newly inducted into the institution’s Quarter Century Club, which was created by UTSW in 1996 to recognize those who have reached 25 years of UT System service.

Honorees will be recognized before an audience that includes their immediate supervisors, members of the Quarter Century Club, and executive leadership. UTSW President Daniel K. Podolsky, M.D., will host the events.

Dr. Nesbitt is the keynote speaker for both celebrations. A hypertension expert in the Division of Cardiology, she was drawn to the specialty by personal connections: Every member of her family has dealt with high blood pressure, she says.

Following her internal medicine residency at Allegheny General Hospital, she completed a fellowship in hypertension at the University of Michigan Hospitals and Health Centers. She then earned a master’s degree in clinical research and analysis from the University of Michigan School of Public Health.

When she came to UTSW in 2001, Dr. Nesbitt expected to focus on clinical trials and the epidemiology of hypertension and cardiovascular risk, particularly in African Americans. Over time, she was presented with opportunities to advance. For more than a decade, Dr. Nesbitt served as Associate Dean of Student Affairs.

“UT Southwestern gave me the opportunity to expand my research as well as have an impact on many students’ lives,” she says.

Like many long-term employees, she embraced the chance to experiment with bold new ideas in an environment that encourages mission-focused creativity to advance medicine and science.

“This is a place where you can move into spaces you have never dreamed of and have the support to do it,” Dr. Nesbitt says. “It’s an institution where everybody feels comfortable.”

She expressed a deep appreciation for the many employees, including those recognized for their service at the Quarter Century Club events, who have been committed to UTSW for decades.

“Thank you for making UT Southwestern so wonderful,” she says. “It’s you who make this place the symbol of excellence and compassion.”