Deborah Ward, Ph.D., R.N., F.A.A.N.

Deborah Ward is associate dean for academics for the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis. In that role, she oversees the education and community engagement missions of the School of Nursing and closely coordinates with the school’s leadership to transform health care through nursing education and research. She collaborates with the Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership Graduate Group to create curricula, connects with community partners to design community-based programs and leads faculty development.

As the first faculty member recruited to the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing at UC Davis in September 2008, she partners with organizations across the community to broaden the school's engagement in a variety of settings. A nationally recognized expert in health policy, Ward brings a passion for healthy systems and healthy people.

Prior to her appointment at UC Davis, Ward was a faculty member at the University of Washington. Her teaching interests include discussion-based and active learning, interprofessional education, innovative computer-based exercises in data analysis and interpretation, cultural awareness, and health care for underserved populations. She currently mentors postdoctoral fellows studying health politics and system change. Ward plays a critical role in developing the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing’s Nursing Science and Health-Care Leadership Graduate Degree Programs.

Ward received her doctorate in Health Policy from Boston University in 1988 and a Master of Science in Nursing from Yale University School of Nursing in 1977. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Oberlin College in 1968.

Ward has received numerous awards and honors, including the Rheba de Tornyay Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award and the Award for Excellence in Graduate Teaching from the University of Washington School of Nursing, where she was associate professor. Ward also received the Distinguished Alumna Award from the Yale University School of Nursing and is a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing.

Ward has secured grant funding for a variety of research projects and she is widely published, both in the United States and in Europe. Most recently, she completed a research project funded by the Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The primary goal of this nursing quality research initiative is to understand how nurses contribute to and can improve the quality of health care. Click here for more information about Ward’s recently completed study, Nurse-Led Intervention to Facilitate Patient Activation for Improved Pain Self Management.

Contact Information: Phone: (916) 734-2215 | E-mail: Deborah.Ward@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu