Dr. Linda Washington-Brown
| Her love of tennis took Linda Washington-Brown to college. Her love of learning has kept her there. Now Washington-Brown has been selected as associate dean of Broward College’s bachelor’s degree program in nursing, which will offer its first classes in January 2011.
Her new role necessitated a move from the Judson A. Samuels South Campus in Pembroke Pines to the A. Hugh Adams Central Campus in Davie. Washington-Brown, who has worked at Broward for five years, says she feels comfortable in the college’s environment because she started her career in higher education in a community college. After graduating from Jackson High School in Miami, she went on to Miami-Dade College’s Kendall Campus.
“I was a tennis player and got a scholarship to Miami-Dade South,” she said. “I had wanted to become a veterinarian, but they had no pre-veterinary courses there. Someone told me that the nursing department there was pretty strong, so that’s where I looked, and where I’ve stayed.”
After Miami-Dade, she went on to earn her baccalaureate degree at Florida International University, and followed up with her master’s degree and doctorate from the University of Miami. She followed that achievement with a postdoctoral fellowship in cardiovascular research at the University of Pennsylvania, and also became an advanced registered nurse practitioner. Her most recent degree is an executive juris doctorate from the Concord Law School in Los Angeles.
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“A lot of my electives were in the area of medical ethics,” she said. “I enjoyed the program. I really enjoy learning.”
Washington-Brown’s extensive credentials set her apart, said Deborah Papa, dean of health sciences.
“Nursing now demands more highly educated nurses, and the focus of Broward College’s nursing program is to continue the advancement of the associate degree RN to the bachelor’s level,” Papa said. “Dr. Washington-Brown has been involved in many educational and administrative roles within nursing and has always taken her responsibilities to a higher level. She knows what nursing needs now, and looks forward to developing our Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.
And tennis, which still holds a special place in her heart, has an expanded role in her life now. “My granddaughter – Dominique Henry – is 15 and is turning pro this year,” she says. Henry is a student of pro coach Rick Macci at his Deerfield Beach academy.
At Broward College, Washington-Brown has been named recipient of a Holcombe Institute classroom research award, a contributor to the college’s learning communities program and a professor of the year nominee. She is active in the American Heart Association and the American Public health Association and has written many articles for health publications.
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