Born: West Virginia Educated: BSN, University of Colorado, 1964 MS, University of Colorado, 1966 PhD, University of Colorado, 1973 click here for my current CV

Dr. Jean Watson is Distinguished Professor of Nursing and holds an endowed Chair in Caring Science at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. She is founder of the original Center for Human Caring in Colorado and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She previously served as Dean of Nursing at the University Health Sciences Center and is a Past President of the National League for Nursing.

Dr. Watson has earned undergraduate and graduate degrees in nursing and psychiatric-mental health nursing and holds her PhD in educational psychology and counseling. She is a widely published author and recipient of several awards and honors, including an international Kellogg Fellowship in Australia, a Fulbright Research Award in Sweden and six (6) Honorary Doctoral Degrees, including 3 International Honorary Doctorates (Sweden, United Kingdom, Quebec, Canada).

She has been Distinguished Lecturer and Endowed Lecturer at universities throughout the United States and many foreign countries. Her international nursing experiences have taken her around the globe several times. While Director of the Center for Human Caring she established international connections with colleague and systems in several countries, including United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Scandinavia, Brazil, Thailand, Venezuela, Japan, and Korea, among others.

Clinical nurses and academic programs throughout the world use her published works on the philosophy and theory of human caring and the art and science of caring in nursing. Dr. Watson’s caring philosophy is used to guide new models of caring and healing practices in diverse settings worldwide. Watson has been featured in numerous national videos on nursing theory and the art of nursing. She was the 1993 recipient of the National League for Nursing Martha E. Rogers Award, “recognizing a nurse scholar who has made significant contributions to nursing knowledge that advances the science of caring in nursing and health sciences”. New York University recognized her as a Distinguished Nurse Scholar. In 1999, the Fetzer Institute honored her with the national Norman Cousins Award in recognition of her commitment to developing; maintaining and exemplifying relationship-centered care practices.

At the University of Colorado, Dr. Watson holds the title of Distinguished Professor of Nursing; the highest honor accorded its faculty for scholarly work. In 1999 she assumed the Murchinson-Scoville Chair in Caring Science, the nation’s first endowed chair in Caring Science, based at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. Her latest books range from empirical measurements of caring, to new postmodern philosophies of caring and healing. Her latest book is Caring Science as Sacred Science (2005) Philadelphia:FA Davis. These latest works seek to bridge paradigms as well as point toward transformative models for the 21^st century. (jwAug,2004)