Margaret Newman (HSC ’62) was a pioneering nurse theorist whose groundbreaking work continues to shape the future of nursing education, research and practice. An alumna of the UT Health Science Center, Newman earned her nursing degree in 1962 before completing a master’s degree in medical-surgical nursing at the University of California, San Francisco, in 1964.
After earning her graduate degree, the Memphis native returned to her hometown to serve as the inaugural director of nursing for a clinical research center and as an assistant professor at UTHSC.
She went on to earn a doctorate in nursing science from New York University in 1971 and built an esteemed academic career with faculty appointments at New York University, Pennsylvania State University and the University of Minnesota. Her research explored the complex relationship between movement, time and consciousness.
At the heart of her work was the development of her theory, which emphasizes the relational nature of health and positions the nurse-patient relationship as central to healing. Her work includes Health as Expanding Consciousness, A Developing Discipline and Transforming Presence: The Difference That Nursing Makes, which continue to inform nursing curricula and care models around the world.
In 2008, Newman was named a Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing, one of the profession’s highest honors. She died in 2018, leaving behind a powerful legacy of inquiry, compassion and innovation.
In May 2023, UTHSC honored Newman’s legacy by opening the Dr. Margaret A. Newman Center for Nursing Theory—a unique global Center of Excellence dedicated to advancing her groundbreaking work.
Since opening, the center has continued Newman’s legacy by hosting impactful programs such as distinguished visiting professorships with attendees from around the world, dialogues exploring Newman’s theories in a modern-day context and focus groups with the remaining participants from her original nursing theory think tanks. The center is also conducting a comprehensive archive analysis—another way it ensures Newman’s theory continues to inform and inspire practice today, securing her legacy for generations to come.
From the Archives
The Spring 1965 issue of Tennessee Alumnus highlights the scope of research at the University of Tennessee during the previous academic year.
In his introductory letter, then-President Andy Holt emphasized the university’s core mission, “Research is placed with instruction and public service as the three broad functions which distinguish the University of Tennessee as the state university and land-grant institution of Tennessee.”
The issue showcases the wide range of research efforts happening across UT. From analyzing tissue samples to uncovering the causes of lung cancer, sifting through soil at ancient village sites for archaeological relics to studying radiation’s effects on life in Oak Ridge, examining historic letters in Ayres Hall and improving industrial materials in engineering labs—UT researchers pursued discovery across disciplines and environments.
Our Tennessee was published as the Tennessee Alumnus from 1917 to 2020. Scanned archives of past issues of the magazine can be accessed online through UT Knoxville’s Digital Collections Library.
