Leigh Small, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC, FNAP, FAANP, FAAN, is the dean of the Michigan State University College of Nursing, assuming the role in 2022, after serving as interim dean for nearly a year. She earned her master’s degree as a pediatric nurse practitioner and PhD in New York. Since that time, her practice and academic positions have focused on providing, studying and/or improving the health care of children and families. She has a passion for high quality healthcare, evidence-based practice, and implementation of thought-provoking educational strategies to challenge learners to always seek and provide best practices. For over two decades she has integrated and applied these passions with the goals of impacting healthcare practices.

Embracing the academic tripartite mission of education, research, and service; Small has served as a nursing educator and researcher for greater than 20 years, held multiple leadership roles in several professional nursing organizations as well as serving colleges and universities, and she has continuously engaged in scholarship. As a primary care pediatric nurse practitioner for nearly 30 years, she has a strong foundation in child healthcare. As such, her research portfolio and scholarship are based on positive approaches to parenting, usual and unusual child development, motivational interviewing, and the synchrony of interactions between parents and young children. Her dedication to the healthcare of children and families has been recognized by acceptance of Fellowship in the National Academies of Practice, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners, and the American Academy of Nursing.