A world-class city filled with art and culture and an incredible campus that offers cutting edge resources–that’s what students receive at Penn Nursing. And that’s just the start. Penn Nursing and the wider university offer something for everyone, as well as a lifelong community.

Penn Nursing is globally known for educating dynamic nurses—because our School values evidence-based science and health equity. That’s where our expertise lies, whether in research, practice, community health, or beyond. Everything we do upholds a through-line of innovation, encouraging our exceptional students, alumni, and faculty share their knowledge and skills to reshape health care.

Penn Nursing students are bold and unafraid, ready to embrace any challenge that comes their way. Whether you are exploring a career in nursing or interested in advancing your nursing career, a Penn Nursing education will help you meet your goals and become an innovative leader, prepared to change the face of health and wellness.

Penn Nursing is the #1-ranked nursing school in the world. Its highly-ranked programs help develop highly-skilled leaders in health care who are prepared to work alongside communities to tackle issues of health equity and social justice to improve health and wellness for everyone.

Penn Nursing’s rigorous academic curricula are taught by world renowned experts, ensuring that students at every level receive an exceptional Ivy League education. From augmented reality classrooms and clinical simulations to coursework that includes experiential global travel to clinical placements in top notch facilities, a Penn Nursing education prepares our graduates to lead.

Penn Nursing Dean Honored for Shaping Health Policy

Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel received the 2021 Health Care Leader Award from the American Academy of Nursing (Academy). The award recognizes her incredible impact in shaping health policy. It was presented during the 2021 Health Policy Conference, Healthy Lives for All People: Advancing Equity, Science, and Trust, held in a hybrid format October 7-9, 2021.

September 23, 2021
Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel
Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel

Created in 2008, the Health Care Leader Award recognizes an influential national leader dedicated to improving the health of the nation through contributions to organizational excellence. “Dr. Villarruel is an invaluable leader who understands how health is achieved and the pivotal role nurses play in promoting it,” said Academy President Eileen Sullivan-Marx, PhD, RN, FAAN. “Her career has demonstrated her profound dedication to improving community wellness by launching programs and centers for research, as well as serving as a leader and advisor to the federal government and countless organizations. I am thrilled to present her with the Academy’s Health Care Leader Award.”

About Dean Villarruel

Villarruel, PhD, RN FAAN, is the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing and Director of the School’s WHO Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership. As a bilingual and bicultural researcher, Villarruel has extensive research and practice experience with Latino populations, health promotion, and disparities. She currently co-leads the NIH funded Philadelphia Community Engagement Alliance to address COVID-19 Inequities (CEAL) a coalition to optimize the rollout and real-time evaluation of interventions focused on COVID-19 disparities across diverse populations within the Philadelphia region.

Villarruel holds many leadership positions. She is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia; she serves as Chair of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) Culture of Health Program Advisory Committee, Chair of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Policy Fellows Subcommittee for the Selection Review Process, and Co-chair of the Strategic Advisory Council of the AARP/RWJ Future of Nursing Campaign for Action. She is also founder of the CDC-implemented program, ¡Cuídate!, designated as an Academy Edge Runner, which aims to reduce risky sexual behavior among Latino adolescents.

She has received numerous honors and awards including the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Award, the Globy Award for Educational Leadership from the Global Philadelphia Association, and the prestigious Ohtli Award from the government of Mexico.

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