I am delighted to announce that the Agenda Committee of Academic Board has approved the reappointment of Professor Linda Johnston as Dean of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2019.

The Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing has benefited immensely from Professor Johnston’s outstanding leadership and guidance over the past five years. In undertaking the role of Dean, Professor Johnston has fostered and promoted excellence at all levels of the Faculty, which is currently ranked #1 in Canada and #2 in the world according to QS rankings by subject. Internationally, she has forged important relationships with peer institutions, including student exchanges with partner schools in China, and a new ERASMUS agreement with universities in Spain. Professor Johnston has elevated the Faculty’s teaching, learning, and research through the targeted, and successful, recruitment of several high-profile chair positions. She has promoted the Faculty as a key player in Toronto’s Academic Health Science Network (TAHSN) and has developed new points of collaboration with the University’s nine fully affiliated hospitals through a series of public lectures and social engagements aimed at improving patient care.

Prior to her appointment as Dean, Professor Johnston was the Head of the School of Nursing and Midwifery at Queen’s University Belfast. While at Queen’s University Belfast, Professor Johnston transformed the School’s teaching, research productivity, and international engagement. Professor Johnston received her PhD and Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney. She undertook her undergraduate nursing education in the United States and has worked in neonatal intensive care in the United States, Australia, and the Middle East.

Professor Johnston’s exceptional leadership, vision, and stewardship of the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing will be critical to its continued success in the years ahead. Please join me in congratulating Professor Johnston on this appointment.