Cynthia Anne Connolly

Cynthia Anne Connolly is the Rosemarie B. Greco Term Endowed Professor and Professor of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Department of Family and Community Health. She also serves as Co-Faculty Director of the Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research and Associate Director of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing. She is a Senior Fellow at the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics and affiliated with multiple interdisciplinary centers including the Alice Paul Center for Research on Women, Gender, and Sexuality and the History and Sociology of Science Department.

• PhD, University of Pennsylvania, 1999
• MSN, University of Rochester, 1987
• BSN, University of Pennsylvania, 1980

Dr. Connolly’s research is grounded in historical analysis and social justice, focusing on the evolution of child health care policy, pediatric drug safety, and the ethical dimensions of nursing practice. She investigates how societal values, politics, and legislation shape children’s health care and how race, class, gender, and ethnicity influence the determination of children’s “best interests.” Her work bridges clinical practice, policy, and historical scholarship.

Her recent publications reveal a strong trend in analyzing the historical roots of contemporary pediatric health challenges, particularly in drug regulation, preventive care, and health disparities. She uses archival research to uncover how policies and medical innovations were implemented and how they affected vulnerable populations, especially children.

Dr. Connolly has received numerous accolades for her scholarship and teaching, including:

• Arthur J. Viseltear Award
• J. Worth Estes Prize
• Two Lavinia Dock Awards
• Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching
• Fellow, American Academy of Nursing

She actively mentors students and fellows, participates in interdisciplinary collaborations, and leads initiatives such as the History, Health and the Humanities minor. Her research is supported by prestigious grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and University of Pennsylvania Research Foundation.

Dr. Connolly is deeply involved in research teams at the Barbara Bates Center and the Field Center, where she collaborates with scholars in social work, law, and medicine to reform child protection systems and advance nursing history.