Dr. Julie Sanford is one of the nation’s most respected leaders in nursing whose contributions to education, research, policy, and practice have elevated the profession. Prior to her current appointment at The University of Alabama, she served as dean and professor of the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Nursing and as director of the school of nursing at James Madison University in Virginia. Her distinguished career in academic nursing has included leadership and teaching roles at the University of South Alabama, University of Southern Mississippi, and Spring Hill College.
A catalyst for innovation, Dr. Sanford has been a leading voice for the profession and an effective champion for programs and policies that serve national and local needs. In 2018, she presented testimony before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee in support of the reauthorization of Title VIII Nursing Workforce Development Programs. She secured more than $13 million in federal and foundation funding to increase access to nursing education for disadvantaged populations living in rural, underserved areas of Alabama, Mississippi, and Virginia. In the international arena, she developed partnerships for research and study abroad opportunities with universities in Japan, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
For AACN, Dr. Sanford has served on the Board of Directors as Secretary and Member-at-Large; on the Nominating and Government Affairs Committees; as chair of the Baccalaureate Education Conference Planning Subcommittee; as a State Grassroots Liaison; as a team leader and Report Committee Member for the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education; and as a mentor in the New Dean Mentoring program. She is a graduate of the AACN-Wharton Executive Leadership Program and the Leadership for Academic Nursing Program (now the Elevating Leaders in Academic Nursing program).