SAN ANTONIO, TX, August 26, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Virginia Massey Bowden with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Dr. Bowden celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Dr. Bowden earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Texas at Austin in 1960 where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Rather than teach school after graduation, Dr. Bowden accepted a data processing position at Texaco Inc., now part of the Chevron Corp. Dr. Bowden's early career includes work as a programmer at Texaco, and as a senior programmer at such companies as the American Medical Association in Chicago, CEIR Inc. a computer service bureau in New York City, and Bamberger's Department Store in Newark, New Jersey.
Inspired to apply her computer knowledge to the library science profession, she earned a Master's Degree in Library Science from the University of Kentucky at Lexington in 1970 where she was inducted in the Phi Beta Mu international library science honor society. In 1970 she joined the staff of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, now known as University of Texas Health, San Antonio, as Library Systems Analyst and was responsible for implementing catalog and serials management systems. She advanced to hold the position of associate library director from 1978 to 1985 and was selected as the Library Director in 1985. She served as the Library Director for the University of Texas Health, San Antonio from 1985 to 2003 and has been director emeritus since 2004.
Along with contributing a number of articles to professional publications, Dr. Bowden co-wrote a chapter in the 1983 Handbook of Medical Library Practice. She received several grants from the National Library of Medicine throughout her career, including support for Hispanic outreach efforts in the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. She was a fellow of the Council on Library and Information Resources from 1978 to 1979, visiting medical libraries with online catalogs. She was appointed a member of the National Library of Medicine's Biomedical Library Review Committee, serving from 1986-1990. While working full time, she commuted to Austin to earn a Doctor of Philosophy in library and information science from the University of Texas at Austin in 1994. Along with her professional work in the library system, Dr. Bowden has actively supported Texas public libraries and served as president of the Friends of the San Antonio Public Library from 1989-1990 and as a volunteer in the Library's book store between 2005 and 2017.
Due to her husband's involvement in medical research, Dr. Bowden has had the opportunity to travel and visit a number of diverse libraries. She was elected as a fellow of the Medical Library Association, from which she was awarded the Louise Darling Medal from the Medical Library Association in 1990 for distinguished achievement in collection development in the health sciences. In 1992 she and her husband established the Bowden Massey Foundation which has funded library and psychiatric research and education since that time. She received the Julia Grothaus Award from the Bexar Library Association in 2003 for dedication to library service in Bexar County. She has maintained involvement in numerous other professional organizations as well, including the American Library Association, the Medical Library Association and the Texas Library Association. She is a member of the Daughters of the Texas Republic. In light of all her accomplishments, Dr. Bowden has previously been selected for inclusion in numerous editions of Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the World and Who's Who of American Women.
In recognition of outstanding contributions to her profession and the Marquis Who's Who community, Dr. Bowden has been featured on the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement website. Please visit www.ltachievers.com for more information about this honor.
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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Today, Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. Marquis® now publishes many Who's Who titles, including Who's Who in America®, Who's Who in the World®, Who's Who in American Law®, Who's Who in Medicine and Healthcare®, Who's Who in Science and Engineering®, and Who's Who in Asia®. Marquis® publications may be visited at the official Marquis Who's Who® website at www.marquiswhoswho.com.
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