The overall mission of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of Nursing History is to ensure the generation of historical knowledge, scholarship, and research on healthcare and nursing history in the United States and around the world, thereby enabling a better understanding of contemporary healthcare issues.

  The four goals of Penn's nursing history center are to:

• Facilitate the production and dissemination of nursing and healthcare history
• Offer education in nursing and healthcare history though course offerings at undergraduate, graduate and doctoral levels and through work with visiting fellows
• Maintain a unique and rich repository of  documents, images, and other materials, preserve those materials, and participate in the archival community
• Ensure access to its materials for scholars and researchers

Bates Nursing History Center Advisory Board

Founded in 1985, the Advisory Board meets in the fall and spring of each year and currently consists of thirteen members representing the Center’s nursing, museum, archival, and scholarly constituencies. It hears reports of the Center's work, advises and supports staff regarding new projects, suggests ways to  generate new funds for the Center, and helps promulgate the mission of the Center. The Advisory Board works with the Director, Associate Directors and staff to formulate and carry out long range goals for the Center.

Advisory Board Members

Ellen D. Baer, Chair
M. Louise Fitzpatrick, Vice Chair
Lillian Sholtis Brunner
Dorothy del Bueno
Hannah Henderson
Jeanne Kiefner
Ann P. Knight
Nadine Landis
Susan M. Lindee
Mark Frazier Lloyd
Marian Matez
Rosalyn Watts