Flashback Friday: A Legacy of Leaders

With the appointment of two-term American Nurses Association president Pam Cipriano as the School of Nursing’s new interim dean this week, we’re taking a look back at the School’s legacy of leadership since its founding nearly 120 years ago.

UVA enjoys a long history of providing leaders for local, state, and national service. Josephine Sarah McLeod (for whom McLeod Hall is named) – director of the University of Virginia Hospital Nursing Service and superintendent of nursing for the training school from 1924-1937 – was one such leader.

Known for her kindness, McLeod advocated for better working conditions for Virginia nursing students, including reducing their work days from 10 to 8 hours, offering sick time, and ensuring that all nursing students had at least an annual physical exam. She's credited with expanding the nurse training school and advocating for more housing for nursing students, an effort that led to the construction of McKim Hall in the early 1920s.

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Nine current and immediate-past presidents of key healthcare organizations make UVA their academic home

Over her career, McLeod led organizations from the Graduate Nurses Association of Virginia and the Virginia League for Nursing Education, to the Virginia State Board of Nurse Examiners and, like Cipriano, the ANA - a depth of service that holds true for many on our faculty today.