UGHE Board of Directors has recently appointed Dr. Sheila M. Davis as a Professor of Practice. 

UGHE is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sheila M. Davis, DNP, ANP-BC, FAAN, as the first Professor of Practice in UGHE. A nurse, scholar, activist, and global health leader, Dr. Sheila joins UGHE at an important time as the Centre strengthens and expands its programme portfolio. 

For Sheila, nursing has been more than a profession. It has been a calling shaped by service, solidarity, and a deep commitment to health equity. Her career has always been guided by the belief that health is a fundamental human right. 

Dr. Sheila earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Northeastern University in Boston in 1988. She later completed both her Master’s degree and Doctor of Nursing Practice at the MGH Institute of Health Professions, training in one of the United States’ leading academic and clinical communities. In 2008, she was inducted as a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. Her body of work includes more than 32 manuscripts, one book, nine book chapters, and more than 41 international presentations. 

She is also widely recognised for leading through crisis. At Partners In Health, Sheila has helped lead responses to Ebola in West Africa, hurricanes in Haiti, and floods in Peru. Colleagues have long known her as a steady leader through both literal and figurative storms. She is also the first nurse to serve as Chief Executive Officer of Partners In Health, a milestone that reflects the power of nursing leadership, vision, and resolve. Through the COVID-19 pandemic and major funding pressures, she has led the organisation while keeping its mission and values in clear focus. 

Nursing itself was shaped in times of adversity, from its early modern foundations during the Crimean War to the public health emergencies of today. Dr. Sheila’s career reflects that same spirit of courage, care, and action. Her work has consistently focused on strengthening systems and standing with communities that are too often left behind. 

“There is no better way to celebrate the contributions and achievements of so many people in service and academia than to welcome Sheila to the University. Her appointment in the newly established School of Nursing and Midwifery brings integrity and a determination to transform lives through nursing practice. Sheila’s place in the University goes well beyond the School as we honour multi-disciplinarity in our learning, teaching, research and service.” Prof. Phil Cotton, UGHE Vice Chancellor.  

The University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) is founded on the belief that excellence in education must be shaped by real-world experience and leadership in action. In that spirit, UGHE reserves the rank of Professor of Practice for distinguished professionals whose expertise has been built through years of senior leadership, implementation, and service beyond the traditional academic path. It is not an honorary title. Rather, it recognises exceptional practical achievement and reflects UGHE’s commitment to bringing deep field-based knowledge into the university, helping students and faculty connect learning to the realities of practice. 

Dr. Sheila embodies that purpose. A global health leader whose work spans Africa, Europe, the Americas, and beyond, she brings extensive expertise in advanced clinical practice, global health systems, and transformational leadership. Her appointment will strengthen teaching, mentorship, practice-based learning, research, and service to vulnerable communities within the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery. 

Dr. Sheila has said she is “honoured and ready to challenge health inequities globally.” That sense of purpose closely aligns with UGHE’s mission and with the vision of the Centre for Nursing and Midwifery. Her appointment is both a recognition of an extraordinary career and an investment in the kind of leadership that can help prepare the next generation of nurses and midwives to lead with skill, courage, and equity at the centre.