New Director of Penn Nursing’s Center for Global Women’s Health

PHILADELPHIA (September 2, 2020) – Holly Harner, PhD, has been appointed the Afaf I. Meleis Director of the Center for Global Women’s Health (CGWH). She recently joined Penn Nursing as a Practice Professor of Women’s Health in the Department of Family and Community Health. Harner has a national reputation as a leading clinician, educator, and champion of women’s health, with a long-standing commitment to improving the health status of vulnerable women.

Harner has demonstrated excellence in her research, practice, teaching, and leadership at Boston College, Jefferson College, and, most recently LaSalle University. Her experience will also advance CGWH’s work both locally and globally including existing collaborations in West Philadelphia, West Virginia, India, Thailand and several Latin American countries, and lead to the development of new partnerships that will use a health equity framework focused on social justice as a foundational value.

“The Center for Global Women’s Health has a hand in every area of women’s health research–here in the U.S. and around the world—and I’m so pleased to welcome Dr. Holly Harner as the new Afaf I. Meleis Director of the Center,” said Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel. “She brings her vast experience in public health, and women’s health specifically, to the role, and I’m confident that Dr. Harner’s leadership will further expand the Center’s work to value and empower women and girls through research, practice, and education.”

CGWH is an interdisciplinary collection of faculty and students who collaborate on women’s health scholarship, education, and clinical practice relevant to global issues. It conducts rigorous research and clinical scholarship to improve the health and well-being of girls and women of all ages. The Center examines and addresses how social and structural determinants of health influence the well-being of women and girls; and it provides mentorship for women’s health scientists and leaders locally, nationally, and globally.

The appointment was effective July 1, 2020.

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 About the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing

The University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing is one of the world’s leading schools of nursing. For the fifth year in a row, it is ranked the #1 nursing school in the world by QS University and is consistently ranked highly in the U.S. News & World Report annual list of best graduate schools. Penn Nursing is currently ranked # 1 in funding from the National Institutes of Health, among other schools of nursing, for the third consecutive year. Penn Nursing prepares nurse scientists and nurse leaders to meet the health needs of a global society through innovation in research, education, and practice. Follow Penn Nursing on: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, & Instagram.