Legacy and Wisdom of Sandra Edwardson PhD Dean of the School of Nursing 1991-2004

Abstract

In the summer of 2013 the Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership (K. J. Densford Center) Director, Daniel Pesut, asked Albert Linderman to partner with the School of Nursing to interview retired Dean Sandra Edwardson, who served as Dean from 1991 to 2004. The partnership’s goal was to provide historically significant documentation of her deanship as well as to elicit and represent her experiential wisdom for the benefit of others. Sandra Edwardson’s deanship, 1991- 2004, provided a needed bridge to allow the University of Minnesota School of Nursing to advance from its former status as an innovative education focused school to the sophisticated, technologically savvy, integrative health conscious force that it is today. She guided significant culture change during her tenure, emphasizing practice-based research and the building of a research focused faculty that has allowed the school to blossom under the leadership of current Dean Connie Delaney. During the summer of 2013, Albert Linderman of Sagis Corporation had the privilege to engage in interviewing Dr. Edwardson focused on her career as Dean. With the use of Sense Making Methodology, Dr. Linderman elicited significant insights from Dr. Edwardson. Linderman also surveyed numerous documents and interviewed others, including Dean Connie Delaney, faculty member Linda Halcon, and the Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership Director Daniel Pesut. These activities and findings serve as the foundation for this report.