Scott elected to lead American Academy of Nursing

Linda Scott, professor and dean of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s School of Nursing, has been named president-elect of the American Academy of Nursing.

Chosen by more than 2,700 academy fellows, Scott and incoming officers and board members will assume their leadership roles at the close of the 2021 Health Policy Conference on Saturday.

“I am beyond honored to have been selected as president-elect by my peers,” said Scott, who served two terms on the academy’s board of directors from 2015 to 2019. “As we continue to respond to a global pandemic and social injustice, I look forward to collaborating with Academy Fellows to advance health policy, research and practice that maximize equity, diversity and inclusivity in our efforts toward the academy’s vision of healthy lives for all people.”

The American Academy of Nursing serves the public by advancing health policy and practice through the generation, synthesis and dissemination of nursing knowledge. Academy fellows represents nursing’s most accomplished leaders in policy, research, administration, practice and academia.

A fellow of the academy since 2008, Scott’s research focuses on the impact of fatigue and sleep deprivation on both nurses and their patients. She joined with other academy fellows in 2018 to publish a position statement calling for nurses and their employers to get educated on the health and safety risks of fatigue and long work hours.

Scott became the eighth dean of the School of Nursing in 2016, moving to UW–Madison from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Nursing, where she served as associate dean for academic affairs, director of graduate studies, and urban health. From 2009 to 2012, she served as associate dean for graduate programs at Kirkhof College of Nursing at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan.

Throughout her career, Scott has also developed and implemented programs focused on economically disadvantaged students, including racial and ethnic minorities. She has led diversity efforts across academic degrees, curricula and universities, including the implementation of holistic review for admissions.

In addition to her membership and service in the American Academy of Nursing, Scott is a board member for the International Network for Doctoral Education in Nursing, an editorial board member for the journal Advances in Nursing Doctoral Education and Research, and a member of the American Nurses Association and the Sleep Research Society.