Barbara Cushing Bio

Barbara Cushing

Barbara Cushing received her Diploma RN in 1949 and worked in Austin and Galveston in surgical
nursing while getting her BSN from the University of Texas at Galveston. Barbara originally graduated
from a diploma program. After working at Parkland Dallas for over a decade, her and her husband, Ivan
E. Cushing moved to Tyler in 1966 with their three children: Cathy, John and David.

Barbara taught at the UT Tyler School of Nursing from 1976 to 1998. She received her MSN at Texas
Women’s University in 1980, became a Clinical Nurse Specialist, and was tenured at UT Tyler in 1984.
She was very active on campus and in her community to help others – Girl Scouts, Biracial Committee,
Smith County Medical Alliance, Sigma Theta Tau and many others.

Barbara died in 1998; those who knew her remember this smart and somewhat sassy founding mother
fondly. The Iota Nu Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau honored her life’s work and memory by naming their
highest honor the “Barbara Cushing Award of Excellence in Nursing.”