Alene Moris Women’s Center

Nancy Woods, PhD

Women of Courage

Nancy Fugate Woods is a professor at the University of Washington School of Nursing, where she served as Dean for a decade. For almost twenty years, Dr. Woods helped set research agendas for women’s health as a member of the National Institutes of Health Women’s Health Task Force and Office of Women’s Health Research Advisory Council. Being a pioneer in women’s health issues required courage, as did her decision to

be a leader in establishing the School of Nursing’s strategic action plan for diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr. Woods’ combination of commitment, dedication, perseverance and persuasiveness was crucial to the success of a process that not only created a plan of action and implementation for the School of Nursing, but also resulted in a document that became a template and guide for the entire University.

Dr. Woods was elected to the Institute of Medicine and American Academy of Nursing for her groundbreaking work in women’s health. She has also received numerous national awards including the Distinguished Contribution to Nursing Research Award from the American Nurses Foundation, the Distinguished Contribution to Women’s Health Award from the American Psychological Association, the Trailblazer Award from the U.S. Public Health Service’s Office of Women’s Health, and the Pathfinder Award from the Friends of the National Institute for Nursing Research.

Dr. Woods has served as president of the American Academy of Nursing, the North American Menopause Society, and the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research. Her doctoral degree in epidemiology from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill has been complemented by honorary doctoral degrees from the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Haifa, Israel, and Chiang Mai University, Thailand.