UMSON Nursing Aging Expert Joan Carpenter Named Gerontological Society Fellow

Baltimore, Md. –  Joan Carpenter, PhD, CRNP, ACHPN, FGSA, FPCN, FAAN, associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing (UMSON), has been named a 2025 Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization dedicated to the field of aging.

Fellow status is peer recognition for outstanding contributions to the field of gerontology and represents the highest category of GSA membership, which encompasses more than 6,000 people in more than 50 countries. This distinction is given for diverse activities that include research, teaching, administration, public service, practice, and notable participation in the society. Fellows are chosen from across GSA’s membership groups. Carpenter was selected by GSA’s Heath Sciences Section.

Carpenter, who is also a health scientist at the Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Philadelphia, and 46 other new fellows will be formally recognized during GSA’s 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting, Nov. 12 - 15 in Boston.

“Being inducted as a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America is an honor and a milestone in my career,” said Carpenter, who joined UMSON in 2020. “This recognition reflects my ongoing commitment to improving care, advancing research, and shaping policy for older adults living with serious illness across health care settings.”

According to her nomination, submitted by Barbara Resnick, PhD ’96, RN, CRNP, FAAN, FAANP, professor, Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology, and associate dean for research, Carpenter is “an integral member of the UMSON PhD program faculty, teaching research and scholarship to first-year PhD students and advising students. She receives excellent reviews for her teaching effectiveness and is a nationally recognized expert mentor for students, faculty, and early-career investigators in gerontology and palliative care. Her research program has provided experiential and hands-on research training for PhD students, undergraduate nursing students, and pre-nursing scholars.”

Resnick notes Carpenter’s dedication to advancing the next generation of scholars is evidenced in a serious illness mentoring group she co-developed with another faculty member for their advisees. The group meets monthly to discuss works in progress and how to achieve research goals. Carpenter also serves on the UMSON PhD program’s Admissions and Progressions Committee, providing essential input on selecting and supporting students and their success in PhD studies.

“She has a national reputation for research expertise in gerontology, palliative care, dementia, clinical trials in nursing home settings, and implementation science,” the nomination continues. “Partnership is at the center of Dr. Carpenter’s work at UMSON; she is a valued team scientist and actively contributes to interdisciplinary research groups.”

She has led and contributed to numerous federally funded projects, including initiatives to improve access to dementia palliative care in nursing homes and to elicit and respect care preferences for seriously ill veterans. Her work has significantly advanced the integration of evidence-based palliative care practices in nursing home settings, influencing both clinical care and policy.

“Collectively, we have worked with Dr. Carpenter and attest to her genuine and enduring commitment to improving the lives of older adults through leadership, research, teaching, and service.”

This week, Carpenter will be inducted as a 2025 Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing, and in 2022, she was selected for the prestigious Betty Irene Moore Fellowship for Nurse Leaders and Innovators, in which she was awarded $500,000 to study palliative care for people living with dementia in nursing homes and their care partners.

Carpenter earned a PhD in Nursing Science from the University of Utah, a Master of Science in Nursing Family Nurse Practitioner degree from the Medical College of Georgia, and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Pennsylvania State University. She did a postdoctoral research fellowship sponsored by the Department of Veterans Affairs in 2018 and was awarded a prestigious career development award from the National Institute of Nursing Research in 2019.

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The University of Maryland School of Nursing, founded in 1889, is one of the oldest and largest nursing schools in the nation and is ranked among the top nursing schools nationwide. Enrolling nearly 2,100 students in its baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral programs, the School develops leaders who shape the profession of nursing and impact the health care environment.