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." Each Living Legend has been a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN) for at least 15 years.[1]
While over 2,000 nurses have achieved the FAAN designation, only a few dozen have been named Living Legends.[2] [3]
| Year | Name | Alma mater | Affiliations | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 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 | University of Minnesota | University of Iowa | Former CEO of American Nurses Association. Founding nursing school dean at University of Iowa.[5] | ||
| 1994 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | 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 | Columbia University | Auburn University | Founded the nursing school at Auburn. | ||
| 1997 | Loyola University Chicago | Loyola University Chicago | President of the American Nurses Association, 1976–1978. Headed several state nursing associations. | ||
| 1998 | 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 | New York University | University of Pennsylvania | First female interim president in the Ivy League. | ||
| 1998 | University of Washington | University of Washington | Emeritus professor and transcultural nursing expert. | ||
| 1999 | Ohio State University | Ohio State University | Former president of the American Psychiatric Nurses Association. Expert in community-based mental health nursing. | ||
| 1999 | University of Florida | University of California, San Francisco | Founded the American Nurses Credentialing Center. | ||
| 1999 | University of Colorado | University of Colorado | Co-created the first pediatric nurse practitioner program at Colorado. | ||
| 1999 | University of Pennsylvania | Former executive director of the International Council of Nurses. | |||
| 2000 | 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 | University of Washington | Pioneer in palliative care. Founded the PhD program at the University of Washington School of Nursing. | |||
| 2000 | Texas Woman's University | President of Texas Woman's University between 1986 and 1993. | |||
| 2000 | Columbia University | American Journal of Nursing | Editor-in-chief, American Journal of Nursing, 1971–1981.[23] | ||
| 2001 | University of California, Berkeley | University of California, San Francisco | Pioneered clinical research in cardiovascular nursing. | ||
| 2001 | National Institute of Mental Health | Presidential adviser on mental health and aging. | |||
| 2001 | Columbia University | Editor of Nursing Outlook. Past president of Sigma Theta Tau International. Created interdisciplinary nursing administration program at Columbia. | |||
| 2001 | Childbirth Connection | Founded the first U.S. birthing center. | |||
| 2001 | Yale School of Nursing | Yale School of Nursing | Established the first American hospice team. | ||
| 2002 | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania | Editor of Textbook of Medical and Surgical Nursing and Lippincott Manual of Nursing Practice. | ||
| 2002 | 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 | Georgetown University | Early leader in the nursing informatics movement. | |||
| 2002 | Columbia University | University of Arizona | President, American Academy of Nursing, 1985–1987. | ||
| 2003 | University of Minnesota | University of Wisconsin–Madison | Developer of the concept of continuing nursing education. | ||
| 2003 | University of Houston | U.S. Army | Early nurse anesthetist. Namesake for a professional advocacy award given by the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists. | ||
| 2003 | University of Pittsburgh | University of California San Francisco | Nursing theorist (maternal role attainment). | ||
| 2004 | New York University | Editor of Nursing Research from 1979 to 1997. Directed early graduate programs in nursing. | |||
| 2004 | 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 | Case Western Reserve University | Editorial staff member of Nursing Outlook, Nursing Research and American Journal of Nursing. Developed the Contemporary Nursing Series. | |||
| 2004 | University of Washington | University of Vermont | Helped to create the joint appointment (academic and clinical practice) role for the clinical nurse specialist. | ||
| 2004 | Rutgers University | Rutgers University | Founder, Journal of Psychosocial Nursing. | ||
| 2005 | Brandeis University | Beth Israel Hospital | Advocate for primary nursing and for baccalaureate nursing education. | ||
| 2005 | University of Wisconsin–Madison | University of Rochester | Created sensation theory. | ||
| 2005 | Columbia University | Loyola University Chicago | Introduced the theory of goal attainment. | ||
| 2005 | University of Pennsylvania | Director emerita of the Barbara Bates Center for the Study of the History of Nursing. | |||
| 2006 | University of Washington | Nurse theorist who studied infant mental health. | |||
| 2006 | University of Pittsburgh | Duquesne University | Former president of the National League for Nursing and Sigma Theta Tau International. | ||
| 2006 | Stanford University | University of Nevada Reno | Author of Reality Shock: Why Nurses Leave Nursing. | ||
| 2006 | 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 | University of Pittsburgh | Established a faculty practice system at Pittsburgh's School of Nursing. | |||
| 2007 | University of Washington | University of California, Los Angeles | Former dean at UCLA. Cardiovascular researcher who wrote 110 peer-reviewed articles. | ||
| 2007 | 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 | 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 | Columbia University | New York University | Hospital chief nursing officer. One of the four authors of Magnet Hospitals: Attraction and Retention of Professional Nurses. | ||
| 2007 | University of California, Los Angeles | Boston College | Developed the adaptation model of nursing. | ||
| 2007 | Union Institute & University | Wayne State University | Former vice president of health programs at W. K. Kellogg Foundation. | ||
| 2008 | 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 | Columbia University | New York University | Former executive director of the National Student Nurses' Association. | ||
| 2008 | Indiana University - Purdue University Indianapolis | Grounded theory scholar. | |||
| 2009 | University of Virginia | Retired associate director and former director of the Center for Nursing Historical Inquiry. | |||
| 2009 | University of Cincinnati | Nursing Management | Longtime nursing journal editor. Author of Sunflowers in the Sand: Stories from Children of War. | ||
| 2009 | Boston College | Boston College | Created Gordon's functional health patterns. Serves on board of directors for North American Nursing Diagnosis Association. | ||
| 2009 | Duke University | Duke University | Former dean at Duke. Developed the first clinical master's program in nursing. | ||
| 2010 | Baylor University | University of Texas at Austin | Former dean, University of Texas at Austin. | ||
| 2010 | University of Technology, Sydney | Yale University | Former dean at Yale School of Nursing. Created first graduate entry program in nursing. | ||
| 2010 | University of Pennsylvania | Dean emerita of nursing at University of Pennsylvania. Created a model for nursing quality assurance in the 1970s. | |||
| 2010 | CGFNS International | Former CEO of CGFNS International | |||
| 2010 | University of California Los Angeles | California State University Long Beach | Founding member of the National Black Nurses Association | ||
| 2011 | University of California, Berkeley | University of California San Francisco | Author, From Novice to Expert | ||
| 2011 | National Institutes of Health | Created the Feetham Family Functioning Survey. | |||
| 2011 | University of Arizona | University of Michigan | First director of the National Institute of Nursing Research. | ||
| 2011 | Iowa State University | University of Iowa | Co-director, Gerontological Nursing Interventions Research Center | ||
| 2011 | 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 | University of California, San Francisco | Professor emerita at the University of California San Francisco. | |||
| 2012 | University of Illinois at Chicago | University of Illinois at Chicago | International nursing consultant, member of the CGFNS International Board of Trustees. | ||
| 2012 | Northwestern University | University of Michigan | Created the Health Promotion Model. | ||
| 2012 | Columbia University | Boston University | Professor emerita at Boston University. Fulbright Scholar in Barcelona. | ||
| 2013 | University of Minnesota | Walter Reed Army Medical Center | Former chief of the United States Army Nurse Corps | ||
| 2013 | University of Florida | University of Florida | Led the ANA Ethnic Minority Fellowship Program | ||
| 2013 | University of Missouri–Kansas City | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Founding president, Society of Pediatric Nurses | ||
| 2013 | Lewis Gale School of Nursing | University of Colorado | Nurse theorist and nursing professor who is best known for her Theory of Human Caring | ||
| 2014 | University of California, San Francisco | University of California, San Francisco | Dean Emeritus, UCSF School of Nursing | ||
| 2014 | University of San Francisco | Arizona State University | Former dean, ASU College of Nursing | ||
| 2014 | Columbia University | Western Michigan University | |||
| 2014 | University of Iowa | University of Colorado Denver | |||
| 2015 | Indiana University | Indiana University | |||
| 2015 | Wayne State University | University of California, San Francisco | |||
| 2015 | University of Gothenburg | Johns Hopkins University | |||
| 2015 | 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 | University of California, Los Angeles | University of Pennsylvania | |||
| 2016 | University of California, Los Angeles | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center | |||
| 2016 | Boston College | A researcher whose work has focused on developing ways to assess and treat trauma in rape victims | |||
| 2016 | 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 | |||||
| 2016 | The Johns Hopkins University | The Johns Hopkins University | |||
| 2017 | |||||
| 2017 | |||||
| 2017 | |||||
| 2017 | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill | University of Washington | |||
| 2017 | |||||
| 2018 | The Johns Hopkins University | ||||
| 2018 | |||||
| 2018 | |||||
| 2018 | |||||
| 2018 | |||||
| 2018 | 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 | University of Iowa School of Nursing | Yale School of Nursing | |||
| 2019 | Texas Woman's University
University of Maryland | ||||
| 2019 | 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 | |||||
| 2019 | |||||
| 2019 | University of Texas at Austin | Obama administration | |||
| 2020 | Linda Harman Aiken | Founder of the Magnet Recognition Program | |||
| 2020 | Bobbie Berkowitz | University of Washington | 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 | |||
| 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 |