The Living Legend designation from the American Academy of Nursing is bestowed upon a very small number of nurses "in recognition of the multiple contributions these individuals have made to our profession and our society and in recognition of the continuing impact of these contributions on the provision of health care services in the United States and throughout the world." [1] Each Living Legend has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) for at least 15 years. [2]
While over 2,000 nurses have achieved the FAAN designation, only a few dozen have been named Living Legends. [1] [3]
Year | Name | Alma mater | Affiliations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1994 | Faye Glenn Abdellah | Columbia University | United States Public Health Service | Former deputy surgeon general of the United States. First dean of Uniformed Services University Graduate School of Nursing. Authored Patient Centered Approaches to Nursing. [4] |
1994 | Myrtle Aydelotte | University of Minnesota | University of Iowa | Former CEO of American Nurses Association. Founding nursing school dean at University of Iowa. [5] |
1994 | Mary Elizabeth Carnegie | New York University | American Journal of Nursing | Editorial staff member of American Journal of Nursing. Senior editor of Nursing Outlook. First editor of Nursing Research. Nursing school dean at Florida A&M University. [6] |
1994 | Ildaura Murillo-Rohde | New York University | National Association of Hispanic Nurses | Founding president of National Association of Hispanic Nurses. First Hispanic nurse to complete PhD at New York University. First Hispanic nursing school dean at New York University. Recipient of Hildegard Peplau Lifetime Achievement Award. [7] |
1994 | Hildegard Peplau | Columbia University | Rutgers University | Author of Interpersonal Relations in Nursing. Only person to hold president and executive director posts at American Nurses Association. [8] |
1994 | Jessie M. Scott | Columbia University | United States Public Health Service | Former Assistant Surgeon General, United States Public Health Service. Recipient of Distinguished Service Medal from USPHS. Involved in creation of the 1964 Nurse Training Act. [9] |
1994 | Harriet Werley | University of Utah | University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee | Founding editor of Research in Nursing. Created the Nursing Minimum Data Set. Nursing department chief at Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. Distinguished professor at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. [10] [11] |
1995 | Luther Christman | Michigan State University | Rush University | Helped to develop the Rush Model of Nursing and the clinical nurse specialist role. Founding member of the National Male Nurse Association, which became the American Assembly for Men in Nursing. First male inducted into the ANA Hall of Fame. First male nursing school dean in US. [12] |
1995 | Rheba de Tornyay | Stanford University | University of Washington | Dean emeritus at University of Washington School of Nursing. Former president of the American Academy of Nursing. Namesake for an aging center at University of Washington. [13] |
1995 | Virginia Ohlson | University of Chicago | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | Department head for public health nursing at University of Illinois College of Nursing between 1970 and 1980. Helped to establish the master's degree in public health nursing at the school. Served as an international nursing consultant and received an order of knighthood from the emperor of Japan. [14] |
1995 | Rozella M. Schlotfeldt | University of Chicago | Case Western Reserve University | Dean emerita of the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University. Established faculty and nursing practice collaborations at the school. Served on a task force to create the 1964 Nurse Training Act. [15] |
1996 | Clifford Jordan | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania | First male tenured nursing professor at Penn. Coordinated Penn's graduate program in nursing service administration. Served as executive director of the Association of Operating Room Nurses. [16] |
1996 | Mary V. Neal | University of Maryland | Chair of pediatric nursing at University of Maryland. Established a research program at the university hospital's neonatal intensive care unit. Developed a "rocking hammock" and studied stimulation in premature infants. Created a conceptual model for maternal-child nursing. [17] | |
1996 | Dorothy M. Smith | Harvard University | University of Florida | Founding dean of the University of Florida College of Nursing. Developed the clinical assessment database. Served as a hospital chief of nursing practice while on the faculty at Florida. [18] |
1997 | Mabel Wandelt | University of Michigan | University of Texas at Austin | Developer of Quality Patient Care Scale (Qualpacs). One of four initial nurse researchers on "magnet hospitals" which led to the Magnet Recognition Program. [19] Author of Guide for the Beginning Researcher. [20] |
1997 | Mary Kelly Mullane | University of Chicago | University of Illinois at Chicago | Former nursing school dean at University of Illinois at Chicago. Former executive director at the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Chaired an Illinois state research committee which encouraged nurses to pursue graduate degrees in the 1960s. [21] |
1997 | Jo Eleanor Elliott | University of Michigan | University of Michigan | Former president of the American Nurses Association. Headed the USPHS Division of Nursing. Advocated college education for all nurses. [22] |
1997 | Doris Schwartz | New York University | Cornell University | Professor and gerontology researcher. Former co-director of Cornell's Geriatric Nurse Practitioner and Family Nurse Practitioner programs in the 1970s. |
1997 | Mary Woody | Columbia University | Auburn University | Founded the nursing school at Auburn. |
1997 | Anne Zimmerman | Loyola University Chicago | Loyola University Chicago | President of the American Nurses Association, 1976–1978. Headed several state nursing associations. |
1998 | Vernice Ferguson | New York University | National Institutes of Health | Led the nursing department at the NIH Clinical Center. Former chief nursing officer for the Veterans Administration. |
1998 | Claire Fagin | New York University | University of Pennsylvania | First female interim president in the Ivy League. |
1998 | Madeleine Leininger | University of Washington | University of Washington | Emeritus professor and transcultural nursing expert. |
1999 | Grayce Sills | Ohio State University | Ohio State University | Former president of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. Expert in community-based mental health nursing. |
1999 | Margretta Styles | University of Florida | University of California, San Francisco | Founded the American Nurses Credentialing Center. |
1999 | Loretta Ford | University of Colorado | University of Colorado | Co-created the first pediatric nurse practitioner program at Colorado. |
1999 | Connie Holleran | University of Pennsylvania | Former executive director of the International Council of Nurses. | |
2000 | Geraldene Felton | New York University | The University of Iowa | Former nursing school dean at Iowa and former president of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. |
2000 | Jeanne Quint Benoliel | University of Washington | Pioneer in palliative care. Founded the PhD program at the University of Washington School of Nursing. | |
2000 | Shirley Chater | Texas Woman's University | President of Texas Woman's University between 1986 and 1993. | |
2000 | Thelma Schorr | Columbia University | American Journal of Nursing | Editor-in-chief, American Journal of Nursing, 1971–1981. [23] |
2001 | Susan Gortner | University of California, Berkeley | University of California, San Francisco | Pioneered clinical research in cardiovascular nursing. |
2001 | Mary Starke Harper | National Institute of Mental Health | Presidential adviser on mental health and aging. | |
2001 | Lucie Kelly | Columbia University | Editor of Nursing Outlook. Past president of Sigma Theta Tau International. Created interdisciplinary nursing administration program at Columbia. | |
2001 | Ruth Lubic | Childbirth Connection | Founded the first U.S. birthing center. | |
2001 | Florence Wald | Yale School of Nursing | Yale School of Nursing | Established the first American hospice team. |
2002 | Lillian Sholtis Brunner | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania | Editor of Textbook of Medical and Surgical Nursing and Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice. |
2002 | Rhetaugh Graves Dumas | Union Institute & University | Yale University | Former dean and vice provost at the University of Michigan. Former deputy director of the National Institute of Mental Health. |
2002 | Virginia Saba | Georgetown University | Early leader in the nursing informatics movement. | |
2002 | Gladys Sorensen | Columbia University | University of Arizona | President, American Academy of Nursing, 1985–1987. |
2003 | Signe Cooper | University of Minnesota | University of Wisconsin–Madison | Developer of the concept of continuing nursing education. |
2003 | Ira P. Gunn | University of Houston | U.S. Army | Early nurse anesthetist. Namesake for a professional advocacy award given by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. |
2003 | Ramona T. Mercer | University of Pittsburgh | University of California San Francisco | Nursing theorist (maternal role attainment). |
2004 | Florence Downs | New York University | Editor of Nursing Research from 1979 to 1997. Directed early graduate programs in nursing. | |
2004 | Juanita Fleming | University of Kentucky | Administrator at the University of Kentucky and Kentucky State University. Authored more than fifty refereed papers and 24 books or book chapters. | |
2004 | Edith Patton Lewis | Case Western Reserve University | Editorial staff member of Nursing Outlook, Nursing Research and American Journal of Nursing. Developed the Contemporary Nursing Series. | |
2004 | Sally Ann Sample | University of Washington | University of Vermont | Helped to create the joint appointment (academic and clinical practice) role for the clinical nurse specialist. |
2004 | Shirley Smoyak | Rutgers University | Rutgers University | Founder, Journal of Psychosocial Nursing. |
2005 | Joyce Clifford | Brandeis University | Beth Israel Hospital | Advocate for primary nursing and for baccalaureate nursing education. |
2005 | Jean E. Johnson | University of Wisconsin–Madison | University of Rochester | Created sensation theory. |
2005 | Imogene King | Columbia University | Loyola University Chicago | Introduced the theory of goal attainment. |
2005 | Joan Lynaugh | University of Pennsylvania | Director emerita of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing. | |
2006 | Kathryn Barnard | University of Washington | Nurse theorist who studied infant mental health. | |
2006 | Sister Rosemary Donley | University of Pittsburgh | Duquesne University | Former president of the National League for Nursing and Sigma Theta Tau International. |
2006 | Marlene Kramer | Stanford University | University of Nevada Reno | Author of Reality Shock: Why Nurses Leave Nursing. |
2006 | Angela McBride | Indiana University | Former president of Sigma Theta Tau International and the American Academy of Nursing. Author of The Growth and Development of Mothers and The Growth and Development of Nurse Leaders. | |
2006 | Ellen Rudy | University of Pittsburgh | Established a faculty practice system at Pittsburgh's School of Nursing. | |
2007 | Marie Cowan | University of Washington | University of California, Los Angeles | Former dean at UCLA. Cardiovascular researcher who wrote 110 peer-reviewed articles. |
2007 | Phyllis Ethridge | University of Arizona | Carondelet St. Mary's Hospital | Hospital administrator who developed one of the first nursing health maintenance organizations. Appointed to Bill Clinton's 1992 health reform task force. |
2007 | Carrie Lenburg | Columbia University | National League for Nursing | Former associate director of the National League for Nursing. Helped to form the New York Regents External Degree Program, now known as Excelsior College. |
2007 | Margaret McClure | Columbia University | New York University | Hospital chief nursing officer. One of the four authors of Magnet Hospitals: Attraction and Retention of Professional Nurses. |
2007 | Callista Roy | University of California, Los Angeles | Boston College | Developed the adaptation model of nursing. |
2007 | Gloria Smith | Union Institute & University | Wayne State University | Former vice president of health programs at W. K. Kellogg Foundation. |
2008 | Gene Cranston Anderson | University of Wisconsin–Madison | Case Western Reserve University | Nurse researcher in maternal-infant care. |
2008 | Helen Grace | Northwestern University | University of Illinois at Chicago | Dean emerita of UIC College of Nursing. Co-editor for several editions of Current Issues in Nursing. |
2008 | Margaret Newman | New York University | Penn State University | Creator of the theory of health as expanding consciousness. |
2008 | Robert Piemonte | Columbia University | New York University | Former executive director of the National Student Nurses' Association. |
2008 | Phyllis Stern | Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis | Grounded theory scholar. | |
2009 | Barbara Brodie | University of Virginia | Retired associate director and former director of the Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry. | |
2009 | Leah Curtin | University of Cincinnati | Nursing Management | Longtime nursing journal editor. Author of Sunflowers in the Sand: Stories from Children of War. |
2009 | Marjory Gordon | Boston College | Boston College | Created Gordon's functional health patterns. Serves on board of directors for North American Nursing Diagnosis Association. |
2009 | Ruby Leila Wilson | Duke University | Duke University | Former dean at Duke. Developed the first clinical master's program in nursing. |
2010 | Billye J. Brown | Baylor University | University of Texas at Austin | Former dean, University of Texas at Austin. |
2010 | Donna Diers | University of Technology, Sydney | Yale University | Former dean at Yale School of Nursing. Created first graduate entry program in nursing. |
2010 | Norma M. Lang | University of Pennsylvania | Dean emerita of nursing at University of Pennsylvania. Created a model for nursing quality assurance in the 1970s. | |
2010 | Barbara L. Nichols | CGFNS International | Former CEO of CGFNS International | |
2010 | Betty Smith Williams | University of California Los Angeles | California State University Long Beach | Founding member of the National Black Nurses Association |
2011 | Patricia Benner | University of California, Berkeley | University of California San Francisco | Author, From Novice to Expert |
2011 | Suzanne Feetham | National Institutes of Health | Created the Feetham Family Functioning Survey. | |
2011 | Ada Sue Hinshaw | University of Arizona | University of Michigan | First director of the National Institute of Nursing Research. |
2011 | Meridean Maas | Iowa State University | University of Iowa | Co-director, Gerontological Nursing Interventions Research Center |
2011 | May Wykle | Case Western Reserve University | Case Western Reserve University | President, Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research. Former president of Sigma Theta Tau International. |
2012 | Anne J. Davis | University of California, San Francisco | Professor emerita at the University of California San Francisco. | |
2012 | Mi Ja Kim | University of Illinois at Chicago | University of Illinois at Chicago | International nursing consultant, member of the CGFNS International Board of Trustees. |
2012 | Nola Pender | Northwestern University | University of Michigan | Created the Health Promotion Model. |
2012 | Muriel Poulin | Columbia University | Boston University | Professor emerita at Boston University. Fulbright Scholar in Barcelona. |
2013 | Clara Leach Adams-Ender | University of Minnesota | Walter Reed Army Medical Center | Former chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps |
2013 | Hattie Bessent | University of Florida | University of Florida | Led the ANA Ethnic Minority Fellowship Program |
2013 | Margaret Miles | University of Missouri–Kansas City | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Founding president, Society of Pediatric Nurses |
2013 | Jean Watson | Lewis Gale School of Nursing | University of Colorado | Nurse theorist and nursing professor who is best known for her Theory of Human Caring |
2014 | Kathleen Dracup | University of California, San Francisco | University of California, San Francisco | Dean Emeritus, UCSF School of Nursing |
2014 | Barbara Durand | University of San Francisco | Arizona State University | Former dean, ASU College of Nursing |
2014 | Bernardine Lacey | Columbia University | Western Michigan University | |
2014 | Colleen Goode | University of Iowa | University of Colorado Denver | |
2015 | Diane M. Billings | Indiana University | Indiana University | |
2015 | Marylin J. Dodd | Wayne State University | University of California, San Francisco | |
2015 | Fannie Jean Gaston-Johansson | University of Gothenburg | Johns Hopkins University | |
2015 | Marie Manthey | University of Minnesota | Creative HealthCare Management | Nurse, author, and entrepreneur. She is recognized as one of the originators of Primary Nursing, an innovative system of nursing care delivery. |
2015 | Afaf Meleis | University of California, Los Angeles | University of Pennsylvania | |
2016 | Linda Burnes Bolton | University of California, Los Angeles | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | |
2016 | Ann Wolbert Burgess | Boston College | A researcher whose work has focused on developing ways to assess and treat trauma in rape victims | |
2016 | Colleen Conway-Welch | New York University | Vanderbilt University School of Nursing | Dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Nursing (VUSN) from 1984 to 2013 and member of President Ronald Reagan's Commission on the HIV Epidemic. |
2016 | Joyce J. Fitzpatrick | |||
2016 | Martha N. Hill | The Johns Hopkins University | The Johns Hopkins University | |
2017 | Linda R. Cronenwett | |||
2017 | Elaine L. Larson | |||
2017 | Carolyn A. Williams | |||
2017 | Nancy Fugate Woods | [[University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill]] | University of Washington | |
2017 | Connie Henke Yarbro | |||
2018 | Jacquelyn Campbell | The Johns Hopkins University | ||
2018 | Marilyn P. Chow | |||
2018 | Joanne M. Disch | |||
2018 | Ada K. Jacox | |||
2018 | Beatrice J. Kalisch | |||
2018 | Sally L. Lusk | University of Michigan | Sigma Theta Tau, American Academy of Nursing, Midwest Nursing Research Society | Known for her study of influences on health behavior of workers exposed to hazardous noise. [24] |
2018 | Ruth McCorkle | University of Iowa School of Nursing | Yale School of Nursing | |
2019 | Geraldine "Polly" Bednash | Texas Woman's University; Catholic University of America; University of Maryland | ||
2019 | C. Alicia Georges | National Volunteer President of AARP 2018–2020.Former President of the National Black Nurses Association 1987–1991, Current President of the National Black Nurses Foundation. Professor and Chairperson Emerita Lehman College Department of Nursing | ||
2019 | Pamela Mitchell | |||
2019 | Linda Schwartz | |||
2019 | Mary Wakefield | University of Texas at Austin | Obama administration | |
2020 | Linda Harman Aiken | Founder of the Magnet Recognition Program | ||
2020 | Bobbie Berkowitz | University of Washington; Case Western Reserve University | School of Nursing at Columbia University | American professor of nursing and dean emeritus of the School of Nursing at Columbia University |
2020 | Kathleen (Kitty) Buckwalter | |||
2020 | Beverly Malone | University of Cincinnati; Rutgers University in Newark | ||
2020 | Marilyn Rantz | University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee | University of Missouri | |
2021 | Betty Ferrell | |||
2021 | Terry Fulmer | |||
2021 | Susan Hassmiller | |||
2021 | Marla Salmon | |||
2022 | Jane Barnsteiner | |||
2022 | William L. Holzemer | |||
2022 | Jeanette Ives Erickson | |||
2022 | Norma Martinez Rogers | |||
2022 | Joyce Newman Giger | |||
2022 | Franklin A. Shaffer | |||
2023 | Janice C. Brewington | |||
2023 | Pamela F. Cipriano | |||
2023 | Martha A.Q. Curley | |||
2023 | Mary O'Neil Mundinger | |||
2023 | Madeline A. Naegle | |||
2023 | Adey M. Nyamathi |
The American Academy of Nursing (AAN) is a professional organization that generates, synthesizes, and disseminates nursing knowledge to contribute to health policy and practice for the benefit of the public and the nursing profession. Founded in 1973, the organization is an independent affiliate of the American Nurses Association (ANA). The organization publishes a bimonthly journal known as Nursing Outlook.
Claire Muriel Fagin was an American nurse, educator, and academic. She was an early advocate of family-centered care, with major contributions to psychiatric nursing, nursing education and geriatric nursing. Fagin was also one of the first women to serve as president of an Ivy League university.
Imogene King was a pioneer of nursing theory development. Her interacting systems theory of nursing and her theory of goal attainment have been included in every major nursing theory text. These theories are taught to thousands of nursing students, form the basis of nursing education programs, and are implemented in a variety of service settings.
Margretta (Gretta) Madden Styles, EdD, RN, FAAN was an American nurse, author, educator and nursing school dean who conceived and helped establish national standards for certifying nurses in pediatrics, cardiology and other medical specialties. Dr. Styles was the president of the American Nurses Association from 1986 to 1988, and wrote five books and many articles published in medical journals.
Teresa Thomas "Terry" Fulmer, is the current president of The John A. Hartford Foundation. Earlier positions include distinguished professor and dean of the Bouvé College of Health Sciences at Northeastern University and dean of the College of Nursing at New York University. She is known for her extensive research in geriatrics and elder abuse. She has received funding from the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Nursing Research and other foundations for her research regarding elder abuse.
Sister Callista Roy, CSJ is an American nun, nursing theorist, professor and author. She is known for creating the adaptation model of nursing. She was a nursing professor at Boston College before retiring in 2017. Roy was designated as a 2007 Living Legend by the American Academy of Nursing.
Luther Parmalee Christman was an American nurse, professor of nursing, university administrator and advocate for gender and racial diversity in nursing. His career included service with the Michigan Department of Mental Health and academic posts at the University of Michigan, Vanderbilt University and Rush University. In 1967, Christman became the first man to hold the position of dean at a nursing school.
Harriet Helen Werley was an American nurse who made early contributions to clinical research and nursing informatics. Werley became the first nurse researcher at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research and the Army Nurse Corps converted to a baccalaureate-prepared group under her leadership. She was a founding editor of Research in Nursing and Health. She co-created the Nursing Minimum Data Set in 1991.
Rhetaugh Etheldra Graves Dumas (1928–2007) was an American nurse, professor, and health administrator. Dumas was the first Black woman to serve as a dean at the University of Michigan. She served as the dean of the University of Michigan Nursing School. She also served as deputy director of the National Institute of Mental Health, becoming the first nurse, female, or African-American to hold that position. She is said to have been the first nurse to use the scientific method to conduct experiments that evaluated nursing practices.
Mabel Ann Wandelt (1917–2008) was an American nurse who made important contributions to the assessment of nursing quality within healthcare organizations. Wandelt was a nursing professor at Wayne State University, the University of Delaware and the University of Texas at Austin. She developed the Quality Patient Care Scale (Qualpacs) and performed much of the nursing retention research that later formed the Magnet Recognition Program.
Myrtle Elizabeth Kitchell "Kitch" Aydelotte was an American nurse, professor and hospital administrator. She served as CEO of the American Nurses Association, director of nursing for the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and the first dean of the school's nursing program. She was the first female academic dean at Iowa. Aydelotte was named a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing in 1976 and was designated a Living Legend by the same organization in 1994.
Marlene F. Kramer was an American nurse, educator and author. She wrote a 1974 book, Reality Shock: Why Nurses Leave Nursing, which examined burnout in the nursing profession. Her book has been widely cited in subsequent studies on retention and satisfaction within nursing.
Ildaura Murillo-Rohde was a Panamanian nurse, professor, academic, tennis instructor, and organizational administrator. She founded the National Association of Hispanic Nurses in 1975.
Shirley A. Smoyak is a nurse and academic who has had a significant impact on the field of psychiatric nursing.
Jessie May Scott was an American nurse and healthcare administrator. She served as Assistant Surgeon General and directed the nursing division of the United States Public Health Service (PHS). Scott advocated for nursing education at the federal level and she received several awards from national organizations honoring her contributions to nursing.
The National Association of Hispanic Nurses (NAHN) is a non-profit professional association in the United States, committed to the promotion of the professionalism and dedication of Hispanic nurses by providing equal access to educational, professional, and economic opportunities for Hispanic nurses.
Linda Burnes Bolton is an American nurse and healthcare administrator. She is the vice president and chief nursing officer at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and has served as president of the American Academy of Nursing, the American Organization of Nurse Executives and the National Black Nurses Association. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
Margaret Ruth McCorkle FAAN, FAPOS was an American nurse, oncology researcher, and educator. She was the Florence Schorske Wald Professor of Nursing at the Yale School of Nursing.
Marilyn Jean Rantz is an American gerontology researcher. She was the Helen E. Nahm Chair at MU Sinclair School of Nursing at the University of Missouri from 2008 until 2015.
Diana Joyce Wilkie is an American nurse researcher. She is the Prairieview Trust-Earl and Margo Powers Endowed Professor at the University of Florida. Wilkie was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2012.