Nancy A. Hodgson to Become New Director of Penn Nursing’s Hillman Scholars Program

Nancy A. Hodgson, PhD, RN, FAAN, Anthony Buividas Term Chair in Gerontology and Associate Professor of Nursing will become the new Director of the Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, effective July 1. The Hillman Scholars Program was created in 2011 to educate a new cadre of nurse scientists and leaders to develop innovative solutions in healthcare.

The Hillman Program’s current leader, Connie M. Ulrich, PhD, RN, FAAN, Lillian S. Brunner Chair in Medical and Surgical Nursing and Professor of Nursing, is returning to her research and book on medical ethics. In her role as Director of the Scholars Program, Ulrich fostered the expansion of partnerships with Penn’s health system to form clinical immersion experiences for Scholars’ research, led innovations that enabled undergraduate nursing students to co-matriculate in PhD study, and served as a remarkable mentor to scholars in the program.

Ahrin Mishan, Executive Director of the Rita and Alex Hillman Foundation (RAHF) which funds the Hillman Scholars Program, tells Newswise.com,

“In addition to Connie’s considerable intellectual contributions, it is her generous spirit as a mentor that truly defines her tenure as Hillman Director. Our foundation is deeply grateful for the myriad ways she has graced the program. We are also excited to have Dr. Nancy Hodgson, a nationally-recognized nurse researcher, as the program’s next leader. Her academic experience and breadth of research make her an excellent choice for the position.”

Hodgson’s experience encompasses more than 20 years in geriatric nursing education and aging research, and a career dedicated to finding new intervention strategies to improve quality of life for chronically ill older adults. She is also a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing and the Gerontological Society of America. To learn more about Hodgson’s new role as Director for the Penn Nursing Hillman Scholars Program, visit here.