Penn President Larry Jameson and Provost John Jackson Jr. announced they will formally recommend School of Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel’s tenure to be extended through June 30, 2028.
The email announcement to the Nursing School community followed the conclusion of a semesterlong review. In the email, Jameson and Jackson highlighted Villarruel’s leadership and “major progress toward achieving the School’s strategic goals.”
“[Villarruel] is widely recognized as an effective and inclusive leader who has guided the School with clarity of vision, resilience, and a deep commitment to academic excellence,” Jameson and Jackson wrote. “Under her tenure, the School has made notable strides in research, education, and community impact while continuing to grow financial support for faculty and students.”
They also highlighted that the Nursing School was ranked the No. 1 nursing school in the world by the QS World University Rankings for nine consecutive years. It has also received the most National Institutes of Health funding of any nursing school in fiscal year 2025, among other accolades.
During Villarruel’s service as dean, the Nursing School reported receiving the largest charitable donation ever to a school of nursing in the United States. Jameson and Jackson’s email emphasized the “transformational community impact” of the resulting Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program, which is now in its third year.
“We anticipate that the Board of Trustees will enthusiastically endorse our recommendation to extend the term of Dean Villarruel for an additional two years,” Jameson and Jackson wrote.
Villarruel was appointed dean in 2014, and her tenure was previously extended in 2020. Before becoming dean of the Nursing School, Villarruel received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from Nazareth College, a Master of Science in Nursing from Penn, and a Ph.D. from Wayne State University.
Villarruel is also a charter member of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and a fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She directs World Health Organization’s Collaborating Center for Nursing and Midwifery Leadership at Penn along with Nursing School professor Eileen Lake.
Senior reporter Saanvi Ram covers undergraduate sciences and can be reached at ram@thedp.com. At Penn, she studies health and societies. Follow her on X @Saanvi_vivi.
