UIW Welcomes “Living Legend” in Nursing for Annual Presentation

Dr. Jean Watson set to deliver Annual Sr. Charles Marie Frank Endowed Lecture

San Antonio - October 9, 2025 - The Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions (SNHP) at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) is honored to welcome Jean Watson, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, LL (AAN) as this year's featured speaker for the annual Sr. Charles Marie Frank Endowed Lecture. Dr. Watson will present a lecture entitled "Unitary Caring Science: A Full Circle of Knowledge" at the UIW McCombs Center Rosenberg Sky Room on Wednesday, October 22, 2025, at 5 p.m.

Watson is a distinguished professor dean emerita, University of Colorado Denver and held the nation's first endowed Chair in Caring Science for 16 years. Founder of the original Center for Human Caring Colorado, she is also a Fellow and designated "Living Legend" by the American Academy of Nursing, alongside being the Founder and Director of her non-profit foundation, Watson Caring Science Institute. Watson also holds the title of Distinguished Professor of Nursing at the University of Colorado, which is the highest honor accorded faculty for scholarly work.

"I feel very honored to host Dr. Watson at UIW," says Dr. Danuta Wojnar, dean of the Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions. "It is a privilege to have an opportunity to learn directly from such a renowned nursing theorist. Dr. Watson has been an inspiration to me personally throughout my nursing career and I look forward to having a chance to absorb her wisdom through in-person lecture. I have no doubt that, as participants, we will have a chance to gain deeper insights into how prioritizing caring science can transform both patient and caregiver experiences. Learning from Dr. Watson will contribute to the enhancement of the nursing community in San Antonio by bringing the vital concept of caring relationships to the practice world."

Watson is a widely published author with many national and international awards including - Lifetime Achievement Award, International STT; The Fetzer Institute Norman Cousins Award; International Kellogg Fellowship Australia; Fulbright Research Award Sweden; University of Notre Dame Award Hildebrand Compassion in Medicine; Academy Integrative Medicine and Healing; Honorary Chair Japanese International Society Caring; Honorary member Global Academy Holistic Nursing. Sixteen Honorary Doctoral Degrees and thirteen International Honorary Doctorates.

Watson's Caring Philosophy Transpersonal Human Caring Theory - Caritas Processes, guides transformative models of nursing education, research, practice and leadership worldwide.

She has also authored and co-authored over 30 books, diving into topics such as human caring theory - practice - empirical measurements, international research, postmodern metaphysical philosophies, caring and healing. Watson has received multiple AJN Books of the Year Awards, which have bridged paradigms that point toward future learning.

The event's namesake, Sr. Charles Marie Frank, CCVI, was a nursing trailblazer. The St. Louis-born Sister of Charity of the Incarnate Word earned a BSN degree in the late 1930's and she foresaw a day when the Bachelor of Science degree in nursing, with the RN, would become the standard for professional nursing. Sister Charles Marie was a pioneer in raising nursing in Texas from apprenticeship training to professional education by bringing the basic nursing program into the system of higher education at Incarnate Word College.

The UIW Ila Faye Miller School of Nursing and Health Professions is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. The Frank Lecture event will also feature a poster symposium beginning at 3:30 p.m.