Appointment of Linda Sarna as Acting Dean, School of Nursing

UCLA Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost

To:   Deans, Directors, Department Chairs, Administrative Officers, and the School of Nursing

Dear Colleagues: 

I am pleased to announce that Professor Linda Sarna, who holds the Lulu Wolf Hassenplug Chair in the School of Nursing, has been appointed acting dean of the School of Nursing, effective July 1, 2014. She will serve a one-year term while Dean Courtney Lyder is on leave. 

Acting Dean-designate Sarna served as the chair of the Academic Senate during the 2012–13 academic year, and she is the chair of the committee that implemented UCLA’s tobacco-free policy. Beyond her leadership and service to the campus, she is recognized for her scholarship promoting the role of nursing in tobacco control, and for her research on the symptoms and quality of life of people with lung cancer. Through her active involvement in tobacco control policy efforts nationally and internationally, she has emphasized the need to change expectations for nursing education and clinical practice. 

Professor Sarna is the author of more than 200 peer-reviewed articles, books, chapters and other publications. Her numerous honors and awards include election as a fellow to the American Academy of Nursing and recognition as a distinguished research professor by the Oncology Nursing Society. She has served on commissions and task forces for the National Cancer Institute, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Institute of Medicine and the University of California, among others. Professor Sarna received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from UCLA and her Ph.D. from UC San Francisco. 

Chancellor Block and I very much appreciate Professor Sarna’s willingness to be of service to the School of Nursing and our campus by assuming this leadership position for 2014–15. Please join us in welcoming her to this new role. 

Sincerely, 

Scott L. Waugh
Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost