Ronald S. Palomares-Fernandez, PhD, was awarded the Order of Saint John Knight’s Cross of Honour on Oct. 5 by the Order’s Herrenmeister, Prince Oskar of Prussia (great-grandson of the last German emperor, Wilhelm II).

Palomares-Fernandez, an associate professor in the School of Social Work, Psychology & Philosophy, was approved to serve as a Knight of Honor by the Herrenmeister in 2018.

The U.S. Johanniter Subcommander Rainer Kohler presented the award to Palomares-Fernandez.

The Knight’s Cross of Honour is given in recognition of a knight’s service to the poor, sick, and the needy. Palomares-Fernandez's work coordinating blood drives during the pandemic, volunteering to serve meals to the homeless, supporting the JHG-Texas Nursing Scholarship program (providing scholarships for nursing students at TWU and UTA), and both building and coordinating the Texas Ramps-Dallas volunteers, were some of the activities that contributed to this recognition.

The Order of Saint John (Der Johanniterorden) is the German Protestant branch of the Knights Hospitaller, the oldest chivalric order that originated with the founding of the first Christian hospital in Jerusalem in 1099.