Penn Nursing professor receives 2023 Women of Color at Penn Award

Sharon Irving, associate professor of pediatric nursing, was awarded the 2023 Women of Color at Penn Award.  

The African-American Resource Center leads the Women of Color at Penn program. Its annual award recognizes individuals who demonstrate leadership and serve as role models for women of color. Recipients must be affiliated with Penn, the health system, or the Delaware Valley community. 

Irving’s work focuses on nutrition care for critically ill infants and children. In addition to educating clinicians and teaching a pediatric nursing course, she currently practices as a pediatric nurse practitioner at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Marcus Henderson, a 2020 MSN graduate and former student of Irving’s, submitted her nomination. 

“She is a pioneer in her field of critical care and nutrition science not only because she is a nurse, but more importantly because she is a woman of color. Dr. Irving has been a nurse for over 40 years and has broken the glass ceiling to pave the way for women of color to enter the nursing profession and pursue advanced education," Henderson said in a news release. 

The Women of Color at Penn Award started in 1988. In 2022, WOCAP hosted its 35th annual award ceremony. 

“For more than three decades, Women of Color at Penn has served to remind us of the remarkable work so many women of color perform across and really in every context of our daily lives,” Former Interim President Wendell Pritchett said during the opening remarks at the 2022 event. 

Irving will receive her award on March 17 at the WOCAP Annual Awards Luncheon.  

“I am so honored to be recognized among the numerous outstanding women of color here at Penn. We all have our challenges and struggles; as a woman of color, mine are similar to many and different from others, but at the end of the day, to know that I have inspired even one to push through, accomplish, and achieve is truly a gift," Irving said in a press release.