Our Leadership
Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing, leads the School with counsel from our Board of Advisors. As one of the 12 schools at the University of Pennsylvania, we are supported in our efforts by Penn’s Office of the President and the University’s Board of Trustees.
Penn Nursing Dean Antonia VillarruelGovernance Structure
Dean Villarruel’s leadership team consists of three Associate Deans: Academic Programs; Research and Innovation; and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, as well as two Chairs of the Departments of Family and Community Health and Biobehavioral Health Sciences; two Vice Deans: Administration and Finance, and Development and Alumni Relations; and an Assistant Dean, Global Health.
The Dean
Antonia M. Villarruel, PhD, RN, FAAN, is the Margaret Bond Simon Dean of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing and Director of the School’s WHO Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership. As a bilingual and bicultural researcher, Dr. Villarruel has extensive research and practice experience with Latino populations, health promotion, and disparities—experience she has called on to establish Penn Nursing as a stellar example to nursing educators, researchers, and the nursing community at-large for how to do the critical work of addressing health equity.
Dr. Villarruel currently co-leads the NIH funded Philadelphia Community Engagement Alliance to address COVID-19 Inequities (CEAL) and is Co-Investigator of the NIH and National Institutes of Aging study “Tiempo Juntos para la Salud.” Her experience and accomplishments have led her to hold a variety of leadership positions. Select current positions include service as a Regent of the Uniformed Health Services University, Chair of the AARP/RWJ Campaign for Action Advisory Board, and the National Academy of Medicine Culture of Health program. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine and Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, among others.
Dr. Villarruel received The Ohtli Award—the highest honor given by Mexico’s government to individuals and organizations that support the Mexican diaspora—in 2020, as well as the Health Care Leader Award from the American Academy of Nursing, the Sigma Theta Tau International Nurse Researcher Hall of Fame Award, and the Globy Award for Educational Leadership from the Global Philadelphia Association.
Associate Dean for Academic Programs
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Associate Dean for Research and Innovation
George Demiris is the Mary Alice Bennett University Professor and a PIK (Penn Integrates Knowledge) Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He explores innovative ways to utilize technology and support older adults and their families in various settings, including home and hospice care. He is a Member of the National Academy of Medicine, a Fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics, the Gerontological Society of America and the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics.
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Department Chair of Family & Community Health
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Department Chair of Biobehavioral Health Sciences
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Vice Dean for Administration and Finance
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Assistant Dean for Global Health Affairs
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Research Centers
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