About MPU

Professor Gwen Sherwood is Chair of Leadership Succession Committee, Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Honor Society for Nursing. She was Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Professor of the School of Nursing of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). Prior to joining UNC-CH, she served the School of Nursing of the University of Texas at Houston for nearly 30 years. Her positions included Director of Continuing Education, Assistant Dean for Educational Outreach, Director of RGV Master’s Outreach Programme, Associate Dean for Community and Educational Outreach, Associate Dean for Practice and Outreach and Executive Associate Dean, apart from her academic positions ranging from Assistant Professor to Full Professor.

Professor Sherwood obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from North Carolina Central University at Durham in 1968, a Master of Science in Medical-Surgical Nursing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1970, and a PhD degree in Adult Health Sciences from the University of Texas at Austin in 1988. Her research focuses on transforming health care environments by expanding relational capacity of health care providers, examining patient satisfaction with pain management outcomes, the spiritual dimensions of care and teamwork as a variable in patient safety.

To realize her goal for better health care services, Professor Sherwood has participated in various large-scale research projects. She is co-investigator, for example, in the “Quality and Safety Education for Nurses” (QSEN) project, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation since 2005 and currently in its third phase. The grant accumulated from these three phases has reached nearly USD 3.5 million. She has also participated in the six-year project on “Centers of Excellence for Patient Safety Research and Practice: Translating Safety Practices from Aviation to Healthcare” with a grant of USD 7.2 million, and a two-year project on “Teamwork and Error in Neonatal Intensive Care” with a grant of USD 677,076, amongst others.

Professor Sherwood has authored/co-authored 54 refereed journal papers and 17 book chapters in areas including professional practice in nursing, nursing management, building partnerships in health care and so on, as well as the International Textbook of Reflective Practice in Nursing, and Planning for Health in Rural Texas Communities. Among her many areas of professional service, she is Vice President of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society for Nurses.