Penn Nursing names new global engagement dean, center for women’s health director

Penn’s School of Nursing has named Carmen Alvarez its inaugural associate dean for global engagement and the Afaf I. Meleis director of the Center for Global Women’s Health.

A professor in the department of Family and Community Health, Alvarez will assume the new roles on Feb. 1. Her responsibilities will include leading Penn Nursing’s global strategy and advancing the center’s educational mission.

“In this inaugural role, Alvarez will leverage her strategic vision and global partnerships to elevate Penn Nursing’s international presence and create transformative opportunities for faculty, students, and communities — advancing health equity from Philadelphia to the world,” the Jan. 13 press release read.

Alvarez, who was trained as a family nurse practitioner and certified nurse-midwife, has focused her research on expanding health equity through international partnerships. Spanning Latin America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe, her projects have collaborated with international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization.

She developed and proved the effectiveness of Cuidándome, a trauma-informed telehealth intervention program that supports Latina immigrant survivors of violence and adverse childhood experiences through different delivery models. 

“For many adults the past (childhood adversity) is not just the past, it continues to create challenges in their daily lives,” Alvarez wrote in the press release. “I develop programs to help people manage these daily challenges and feel good about themselves.”

Alvarez has also worked with the University of Puerto Rico School of Nursing to research dating violence prevention and healthcare worker support during the COVID-19 pandemic. She helped establish the first Association of Women’s Health, Obstetrics and Neonatal Nursing chapter in Puerto Rico to advance perinatal care.

Her appointment comes two months after Nursing School Dean Antonia Villarruel’s tenure was extended through June 2028. 

In a November 2025 announcement, Penn President Larry Jameson and Provost John Jackson Jr. highlighted Villarruel’s leadership and “major progress toward achieving the School’s strategic goals.”

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. The school has also received the most National Institutes of Health funding of any nursing school in fiscal year 2025, among other accolades.

In 2022, Alvarez was named the University's first Presidential Professor at Penn Nursing.

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