Dr. Margaret A. Newman Center for Nursing Theory
The center’s mission is to promote the development of nursing theory and to generate new theories or expand existing theories with a particular focus on Dr. Newman’s theory of Health as Expanding Consciousness. Using a model of scholarship, leadership, innovation, and practice, the Center provides for direct collaboration with international nurse scholars, practitioners, and students committed to generating knowledge for nursing education, practice, and research.
The Dr. Margaret A. Newman Center for Nursing Theory is guided by an international group of dedicated scholars and experts in Dr. Newman's theory, who serve as the Advisory Board to the center. The inaugural Advisory Board meeting was held on October 15, 2021, and meetings are held quarterly.
Learn More about the Dedication and Inaugural Dialogue.
The center's dedication on May 30, 2023, included a ribbon-cutting and the unveiling of a new portrait of Dr. Newman.
Memphis native Margaret Newman, PhD, RN, was a world-renowned nurse theorist who earned her nursing degree at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. She earned her master’s degree in medical-surgical nursing at the University of California at San Francisco, and her PhD in Nursing Science at New York University. Her books related to her theory include, “Health as Expanding Consciousness,” “A Developing Discipline,” and “Transforming Presence: The Difference That Nursing Makes.” She served as a professor at the University of Minnesota, on faculty at UTHSC, as the PhD program director at New York University, and as a civilian consultant to the U.S. Surgeon General for Nursing Research. She also led the graduate and research in nursing program at Pennsylvania State University. She was named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing. Dr. Newman died in 2018.
About Nursing Theory
Learn more about Health as Expanding Consciousness (HEC).
The center has been featured recently on the podcast, That's Healthful. The first
episode covers the opening of the center. The second episode covers nursing theory. The third covers HEC Theory.
Center Leadership
Nursing Theory Center Director
.Associate Professor Marie Gill, PhD, RN, is the director of the Dr. Margaret A. Newman Center for Nursing Theory. She joined the UTHSC College of Nursing in October, 2022, after nearly 10 years on the faculty of the University of Memphis, Loewenberg College of Nursing. Dr. Gill earned her bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) from the UTHSC College of Nursing and her master of science in nursing (MSN) from the University of Memphis. She also earned her Master of Science in Education for Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership from the University of Memphis. Dr. Gill attained her PhD in Nursing Science with a minor in public health nursing from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2012.
In Tribute to Dr. Melody Waller
The UTHSC College of Nursing offers special gratitude to the late Assistant Professor Melody Waller, PhD, RN, who served as the first Director of the Dr. Margaret A. Newman Center for Nursing Theory until her death Feb. 6, 2022. Dr. Waller was loved and admired by faculty and students for her commitment to nursing as a scholar, clinician, educator, mentor, coach, and truly compassionate human being. Dr. Waller joined the College of Nursing faculty in 2009 and earned her PhD in Nursing Science at UTHSC in 2016. The Melody Waller Endowed Scholarship was established to benefit a student pursuing a BSN at UTHSC. http://giving.uthsc.edu/waller.
Center Advisory Board
- Dean Wendy Likes, PhD, DNSc, APRN-BC, FAANP, Dean – UTHSC
- Emiko Endo, PhD, RN – Musashino University, Tokyo, Japan (retired)
- Jane Flanagan, PhD, RN, ANP- BC, AHN-BC, FNAP, FNI, FAAN – Boston College
- Carolyn Graff, PhD, RN, FAAIDD – UTHSC
- Dorothy Jones, EdD, APRN, FAAN, FNI– Boston College (retired)
- Margaret Pharris, PhD, RN, MPH, AHN-BC – St. Catherine University (retired)
- Marlaine Smith, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, HWNC-BC, FAAN – Florida Atlantic University (retired)
- Mona Wicks, PhD, RN, FAAN – UTHSC
- Marie Gill, PhD, RN, Director – UTHSC