Dr. Ruth J. Simmons establishes the Nora B. Wilson Endowment to provide permanent support for Texas Southern University’s Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center, expanding access to lifesaving education, screenings, and outreach across Texas.
Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, the first woman president of Prairie View A&M University, is honoring her sister’s legacy in a major way.
Dr. Simmons recently established the Nora B. Wilson Endowment to support Texas Southern University’s Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center. The gift will provide permanent funding for the Center’s education, research, outreach, and community engagement initiatives aimed at promoting breast cancer prevention and early detection. Simmons established the endowment in honor of her late sister, Nora B. Wilson, a breast cancer survivor who died in May.
“Nora Wilson was such a person who lived a life of dignity and worth without ever being singled out for her importance, but she was important,” said Dr. Simmons. “She was a daughter who sacrificed by going to work early to help support our family, a sister whose strong independence inspired us to live our lives with purpose and a respect for others, a mother whose strong independence protected her children and imparted inestimable values to guide their lives, and a wife whose loyalty and love to her husband Nathaniel endured until his death. This endowment that we are pleased to give Texas Southern honors one who labored largely without praise.”
In honor of her sister, Dr. Simmons is supporting the vital work of the Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center, which serves communities across nine counties, including Harris, Matagorda, Brazoria, Polk, Galveston, and Walker. The Center provides mammograms, education, and patient navigation services at no cost to uninsured women in Texas. It does so by partnering with mobile mammography units operated by The Rose and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
“We partner with M.D. Anderson and The Rose to provide mammograms free of charge for the uninsured,” said TSU Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center Care Coordinator Kelilah Vitale.
Vitale told Forward Times that the Center covers the costs of breast cancer screenings, ultrasound diagnostics, and even biopsies. She noted, however, that services are available only to patients ages 40 and older and therefore are not available to most TSU students.
“We don’t do walk-ins,” she added. “Every patient has to get scheduled.”
Those interested in scheduling an appointment can complete an interest form and book an appointment by calling 713-313-4424.
In addition to breast cancer services, the Center also offers screenings for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), blood pressure, A1C, which measures blood sugar levels, and cholesterol. These services are provided through TSU’s Mobile Health Units—buses similar to those operated by M.D. Anderson and The Rose, where patients can receive care on board. Other services include medication therapy management and a dermatology clinic that treats patients with psoriasis and eczema.
The Center is housed within the Institute of Urban Public Health and Housing inside the W.R. Banks Building, also known as the Child Development Laboratory, at 3348 Cleburne St. It is expected to relocate to Texas Southern University’s Community Health Center upon its completion in 2027.
The Institute of Urban Public Health and Housing is dedicated to transforming urban communities by researching the non-medical drivers of health, including employment, housing, and food insecurity. The Institute was established in part through the efforts of the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, who secured a $2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in 2023. The Institute, which officially opened in late 2025, sits across the street from the Cuney Homes housing complex in Third Ward, a historically Black neighborhood where health disparities persist.
In 2019, the Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy found that 68% of Third Ward residents had health insurance, compared with the national average of 92%. The study also found that rates of housing inadequacy, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, were significantly higher in Third Ward than the national average. More than half of residents experienced food insecurity—more than four times the national rate—and rates of asthma and diabetes also exceeded national averages.
Similar disparities exist more broadly. Cancer disparities are often found among people of lower socioeconomic status, particularly Black patients. Although Black women have lower incidence rates of breast cancer than their White counterparts, they experience a 38% higher mortality rate due to later diagnoses and reduced access to high-quality healthcare. According to the American Cancer Society, Black women also have the lowest breast cancer survival rates at every stage of the disease.
Breast cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Texas, making the Center’s work even more vital—and Dr. Simmons’ gift even more meaningful.
A Legacy That Saves
“This is a legacy moment and so much more,” said Texas Southern University President J.W. Crawford III. “I am thankful to Dr. Ruth J. Simmons and the Wilson family for their gift to Texas Southern University. More importantly, I am thankful to them for entrusting us with this deeply personal and enduring family remembrance. I am truly humbled to accept the responsibility of ensuring the goodness she delivered in life will be paid forward here at Texas Southern University.”
SUPPORT THE NORA B. WILSON ENDOWMENT
Your gift will help expand access to lifesaving breast cancer screenings, education, research, and community outreach through Texas Southern University’s Breast Cancer Screening and Prevention Center.
Scan to learn more or make a contribution today.
