The distinguished career of Ada Lindsey, Ph.D., dean of the UNMC College of Nursing, began in 1955 when she enrolled at The Ohio State University School of Nursing. Little did she know that 47 years later, she would receive a second prestigious award from her alma mater.
In late April, Dr. Lindsey received The Ohio State University College of Nursing Alumni Society’s Mildred E. Newton Distinguished Educator Award in Columbus, Ohio, during Annual Alumni Day. The award is granted to an alumna and current or former educator or dean of a national college/school of nursing whose personal integrity and commitment to nursing education, advancement of nursing science through research and publications, or exemplary practice of nursing contributes significantly to the recruitment and preparation of the next generation of nurses.
In 1989, Dr. Lindsey received the society’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
The Newton award is named in honor of the late Mildred Newton, who was professor and director of the School of Nursing at The Ohio State University from 1951 to 1968.
Dr. Lindsey, the first to receive the newly created award, was a student working on her bachelor’s and master’s degrees while Newton was director.
“This award was a total surprise,” Dr. Lindsey said. “I certainly am honored. I was surprised and especially pleased to be nominated as the first recipient in honor of a director I knew.”
In a nomination letter, Dr. Lindsey is recognized for her integrity, calmness in the face of adversity, willingness to listen, promotion of the interests of others, fairness and unwavering focus on quality.
Elizabeth R. Lenz, Ph.D., dean and professor of the OSU College of Nursing, said Dr. Lindsey is one of the nursing profession’s most outstanding researchers and scholars who has made major contributions to the field of oncology nursing.
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Ada Lindsey, Ph.D. (left), dean, UNMC College of Nursing, received the Ohio State University College of Nursing’s 2003 Mildred E. Newton Distinguished Educator Award. Elizabeth Lenz, Ph.D., dean of the Ohio State University College of Nursing, presented Dr. Lindsey the award at a recent alumni event. |
“She has set high standards for nursing education nationally and internationally,” Dr. Lenz said. “Ada is a visionary and an innovator, and also has been successful in seeing her visions through to reality. She is held in enormously high regard by the profession for her insistence on excellence, strong commitment to scholarship, and unfailing ability to inspire and enable others to excel.
“Dr. Ada Lindsey is one of the most highly regarded leaders of our profession.”
Although Dr. Lindsey will retire at the end of July, her influence will continue to have an effect in the lives of colleagues, faculty, students and the patients they have helped.
Dr. Lindsey has served in leadership roles in several of the nation’s most highly regarded schools of nursing – as assistant dean at the University of Maryland, chair of the department of physiological nursing at the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing, dean of the school of nursing at UCLA.
It was after completing her master’s degree, while realizing she enjoyed teaching in the clinical setting, that she decided to pursue a career in nursing education.
The impact she’s had on the lives of students and faculty since then is immeasurable.
“You never know how broad your influence really is as an educator,” she said. “You rarely truly know the breadth or depth of your impact on development of someone.”
Despite all her personal successes and accolades over the years, Dr. Lindsey credits the work of others.
“You wouldn’t be in this position if there weren’t a lot of people doing a lot of work,” Dr. Lindsey said. “It’s been a long and very happy career. I’ve been really privileged. I’ve certainly gained as much as I’ve given.”