Linda D. Scott
PhD, RN, NEA-BC, FADLN, FNAP, FAAN
Dean and Professor
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Dr. Linda Scott is the dean of the University of Wisconsin—Madison School of Nursing. She was appointed the eighth dean of the School in July 2016 where she provides direction and leadership in educating nurses for the future of care, strengthening the school’s research enterprise, and forging partnerships to improve health outcomes.
As a leading scholar in sleep and health services research, her research on workforce issues has influenced the direction of health policy formation as the nation struggles to provide patient-centered, quality health care amidst a significant nursing workforce shortage. Dr. Scott has also led diversity efforts across academic degrees and curricula such as the implementation of holistic admissions review; a strategy to enhance the diversity of the nursing workforce and improve patient outcomes by having a nursing profession that mirrors the populations in which it serves.
Dr. Scott assumed the role of President of the American Academy of Nursing in October 2023. In addition, she is a Fellow of the National Academies of Practice and a member of Sigma Theta Tau honor society for nursing. Through December 2022, Dr. Scott served as an associate editor for Nursing Outlook, the official journal of the American Academy of Nursing. In June 2022, she accepted a nomination to become a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board of Health Care Services.
Dr. Scott earned her PhD in nursing from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, her master’s degree from Grand Valley State in Allendale, Michigan, and her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University in East Lansing.