UB Distinguished Alumni Award presented to Rear Admiral Rebecca McCormick-Boyle, BS '81

The University at Buffalo (UB) Center for the Arts was the backdrop for a special night set aside to honor those extraordinary individuals who, with their remarkable achievements, embody UB’s local and global impact. The UB School of Nursing (SON) is especially proud that one of our own, Rear Admiral Rebecca McCormick-Boyle, BS ‘81, is a recipient of the UB Alumni Association (UBAA) Distinguished Alumni Award for 2015. Her many accomplishments, along with her outstanding leadership, were recognized and celebrated by the university and the Western New York community.

After graduating from UB SON in 1981, Rear Adm. McCormick-Boyle was commissioned and reported to the Naval Hospital, Orlando, Florida, to work as a surgical and critical care nurse. She went on to serve in posts of increasing responsibility around the United States and overseas. Rear Adm. McCormick-Boyle is currently commander of the Navy Medicine Education and training command at Fort Sam Houston in Texas and director of the Navy Nurse Corps. She has consistently championed the academic excellence and educational preparedness she received as an undergraduate in the SON. In her acceptance speech for the UBAA Award she stated, “UB was the perfect place to develop, awaken and prepare.” She reflected on how UB prepared her to understand the privilege of touching lives and pursue ongoing education, ultimately providing her with the resolve needed for each position of responsibility she has held in her prominent career in the U.S. Navy. Rear Adm. McCormick-Boyle credits UB with instilling in her a passion for life, learning and service. She vowed her continued commitment to prepare those in her command to care, to learn and to be a part of the solution as they advance in the nursing profession. Prior to this recent visit, she returned to the SON to speak to students during Buffalo’s Fleet Week and to accept the SON Distinguished Alumni Award in 2013. A heartfelt congratulations to the Rear Adm. McCormick-Boyle on this tremendous achievement, and we thank her for her service!

- DONNA A. TYRPAK