Gator Transforms Nursing Profession Through Faculty Support

Linda Aiken Challenges Others to Invest in the Next Generation of Leaders

Linda Aiken (BSN '64, MN '66) has worked her way around the world to accomplish one goal: help provide high-quality nursing care to people who are too ill to advocate for themselves.

A health care workforce researcher by trade, Aiken has studied the effect of nursing on patient recovery in more than 30 countries. Her findings are widely used as the basis for managerial and policy decisions in the United States and beyond. Her success isn't surprising, however. Her high proficiency for detecting trends emerged early during her college days at UF. Dorothy Smith, founding dean of UF's College of Nursing, saw that spark and nurtured it.

"My education was the very best," Aiken says. "My career was very much shaped by the vision of the future of nursing practice, education and research that I was exposed to, particularly by Dean Dorothy Smith. I learned the importance of thinking big, challenging the status quo and always using a patient-care lens to guide my research and my career."

Aiken has actively paid forward to UF nursing students the mentoring she received. She helped start a leadership conference, provided seed money to endow a chair, served on several advisory boards and recently committed $1 million to endow a professorship. She plans to fund part of the professorship with donations from her individual retirement account (IRA). By directing annual distributions from her IRA to a charity, she avoids paying taxes on those distributions and sees an immediate impact on the college — and students — she cares about most.

"I want to give back to UF to … prepare the next generation of nurses for national leadership roles in health care," Aiken says. "I hope my gift commemorating the college's important contributions will motivate other alumni to make similar gifts."

When she's not visiting her alma mater, Aiken can be found mostly in Philadelphia, directing the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research at the University of Pennsylvania. She also finds time to teach nursing and sociology at Penn.

UF College of Nursing Dean Anna McDaniel says Aiken's support is incredibly meaningful and invaluable.

"Like Dorothy Smith, Dr. Aiken is a true visionary and pioneer for the nursing profession," McDaniel says. "Her contributions are endless and span the world. We are proud to honor the unique spirit and vision she has shared through her illustrious professional career and her personal relationships."

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