Dr. Jennifer Eames: Breaking the Glass Ceiling

Dr. Jennifer Eames, Director of the Physician Assistant Program and Associate Professor of Physician Assistant Studies, was recently named the first female physician assistant (PA) in the state of Texas to be appointed to full professorship. The promotion to the rank of Professor will be effective beginning the 2022-2023 academic year.

Dr. Eames will continue to teach courses at Hardin-Simmons University, but in the fall will do so with a title that brings recognition to her contributions to the PA profession and university. 

Dr. Eames with PA students on International Women’s Day.

“HSU has always been bold and trailblazing, open to female leaders in the health science areas,” stated Dr. Eames. “I am excited to represent PAs with this promotion. Despite most PAs in the U.S. now being women, academic institutions have historically been less likely to promote PAs and not recognize the contributions of female faculty at the rate of males in Texas.” 

In addition to this achievement, Dr. Eames serves as President of the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants, representing over 11,000 Texas PAs. Throughout her career, she has served on various national and international committees for PAs, published a variety of works regarding PA research, and was the first female in Texas to be the founding director of a PA program.

“While I am the first female in my field in our state to accomplish this, I hope to absolutely not be the last and want to continue supporting women both in and out of Texas to reach for the stars,” shared Dr. Eames. “It is important to continue empowering each other to achieve and display those achievements for others. After all, if you can see it, you can be it!”