The University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Nursing has named Dean Emerit Linda D. Scott as the 2026 recipient of the Canary Savage Girardeau Award for Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, recognizing a lifetime of leadership, advocacy, and transformative impact on nursing education, research, practice, and policy. Dr. Scott was selected posthumously in recognition of her enduring legacy, and the award will be presented to her family at an event this fall.
Named in honor of Canary Savage Girardeau, the School of Nursing’s first African American graduate, this award recognizes members of the School of Nursing community—including alumni, students, faculty, staff, and community partners—whose work reflects the School’s commitment to advancing health and health equity for Wisconsin and beyond. This is the fourth year the award has been presented. Honorees demonstrate a significant dedication to addressing the needs of communities whose health status or social conditions place them at risk or render them vulnerable.
Throughout her career, Dr. Scott exemplified this commitment in both principle and practice, helping to shape a future that is more equitable for nursing, and the communities nurses serve.
Dr. Scott served as the eighth dean of the UW–Madison School of Nursing from 2016 until her untimely passing in November of 2025. The School’s first Black dean, her leadership elevated health equity to a foundational priority as part of its overall vision, ensuring it is embedded across education, research, scholarship, workforce development, and community engagement. Under her guidance, inclusive excellence became not an aspiration, but an operational and cultural standard.
“Dean Emerit Scott’s life and legacy of commitment to health equity and diversity in nursing, and her leadership toward a culture of inclusive excellence in nursing education and research are perfectly aligned with the intent of the Canary Savage Girardeau Award,” said Interim Dean Susan Zahner, DrPH, RN, FAAN. “Her principled valuing of inclusive excellence and health equity will guide the School for decades to come.”
Dr. Scott’s career was defined by the belief that nurses have both the responsibility and the power to confront inequity and health disparities, whether through evidence-driven research, policy advocacy, or compassionate care at the bedside. She championed holistic admissions, expanded pathways into nursing education, invested in student success initiatives, mentored and helped others grow and develop in the profession, and worked to diversify and strengthen the nursing workforce well beyond the borders of the UW–Madison campus and the state of Wisconsin.
For Dr. Scott, health equity was integral to the nursing profession’s mission. Her leadership reflected a deep understanding of how systemic inequities shape health outcomes, and how nursing—grounded in science and compassion—can alter those systems and affect change.
As a nationally recognized nurse scientist, Dr. Scott’s research on nurse fatigue, workforce well-being, and patient safety illuminated the structural conditions that place both caregivers and patients at risk. Her scholarship reinforced the central truth that advancing health equity requires protecting those who deliver care. Her work helped redesign systems to better serve all populations.
Beyond research, she fostered inclusive interprofessional collaboration, elevated community-engaged scholarship, and amplified nursing’s voice in national policy conversations. Her leadership extended globally, welcoming diverse perspectives and building partnerships rooted in shared responsibility for health and well-being.
“Dr. Scott’s legacy as our first Black dean is a testament to visionary leadership grounded in courage, compassion, and an unwavering commitment to health equity,” said Associate Dean for Health Equity and Community Engagement Diamond D. Williams, DrPH, MPH. “In honoring her posthumously with the Canary Savage Girardeau Award—an award she imagined and established during her deanship—we recognize a legacy that powerfully and boldly bridges past and present.”
Dr. Scott believed in the idea of doing one’s part, in one’s time. Her leadership has prepared countless nurses, scholars, and leaders to carry that responsibility forward. Her legacy lives on in the School of Nursing’s mission, in its students and alumni serving communities across Wisconsin and beyond, and in a profession strengthened by her belief that excellence and equity are inseparable.
In honoring Dean Emerit Linda D. Scott with the 2026 Canary Savage Girardeau Award for Health Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, the UW–Madison School of Nursing celebrates a life of profound impact, and a legacy that continues to shape the future of nursing, health care, and health equity.
Dr. Williams reflected, “She embodied the very ideals this award represents and through her influence, she ensured that a path to advance inclusive excellence was not just an aspiration, but a daily practice. Her presence and impact on the nursing profession touched and shaped many, and her legacy lives on in the communities and spaces she uplifted and the future of students, colleagues, and systems she helped shape — one where every voice is valued, and health equity is the standard, not the exception.”