Professor Leininger is the founder and leader of the academic field of transcultural nursing with focus on comparative human care theory and research. She is Professor Emeritus, College of Nursing, at Wayne State University, and Adjunct Professor, College of Nursing, at University of Nebraska Medical Center. Dr. Leininger is an internationally known transcultural lecturer, educator, author, theorist, administrator, researcher, and consultant in nursing and anthropology. She is a fellow and distinguished living legend of the American Academy of Nursing and an emeritus member of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing. Presently, Dr. Leininger is semi-retired but remains active as a transcultural nurse speaker, consultant, and researcher from her home in Omaha, Nebraska. Dr. Leininger is the author and editor of 27 books. She has published approximately 200 articles and has given over 1,110 public lectures within and outside of the USA. Marilyn R. McFarland, PhD, RN, CTN-A, FNP-BC is a Professor, Department of Nursing, School of Health Professions and Studies, University of Michigan-Flint. Dr. McFarland earned her PhD in Nursing with a focus in Transcultural Nursing from Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan; Master of Science in Nursing from Wayne State with a major in Medical Surgical nursing and minors in Teaching in Nursing, Gerontological Nursing, and Transcultural Nursing; and Bachelor of Science in Nursing also from Wayne State. Her family nurse practitioner certificate was earned from Saginaw Valley State University in 2005. As a Certified Transcultural Nurse andTranscultural Nursing Author and Scholar, Dr. McFarland has been nationally and internationally recognized for her contributions to transcultural nursing by the Transcultural Nursing Society, receiving the 1993 Leininger Award for Excellence in Transcultural Nursing from the Society. She was also the 1994 Recipient of the Leininger Transcultural Nursing Award for Excellence and Creative Leadership in Transcultural Nursing and Human Care from Wayne State University, College of Nursing, Detroit, Michigan. In addition to individually publishing numerous book chapters and articles, Dr. McFarland co-authored two texts with Dr. Madeleine Leininger, Culture Care Diversity and Universality: A Worldwide Nursing Theory (2006) and Transcultural Nursing: Concepts, Theories, Research, & Practice (2002) which was the recipient of the 2003 American Journal of Nursing's Book of the Year Award. Dr. McFarland is a past editor of the Journal of the Transcultural Nursing, a past chair of the Transcultural Nursing Certification Commission whose members developed a revised certification examination process under her guidance, has been a member of the TCNS Board, has served on numerous Society committees, and co-presented the Keynote Address with Dr. Leininger in 2011 at the 37th Annual TCNS International Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. She is also a member of the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties, Michigan Council of Nurse Practitioners, American Nurses' Association, the Michigan Nurses' Association, and ANA-Michigan (formerly RN-AIM). As a career-long member of Sigma Theta Tau International, she is active in the local Pi Delta chapter based at UM-Flint. Dr. McFarland has taught at the undergraduate level in the areas of gerontology, fundamentals of nursing, and health assessment. She currently teaches nursing at the graduate level focusing on transcultural health care, advanced practice nursing role development, and graduate translational research projects. She has served on many doctoral nursing dissertation committees nationally as well as on many master's theses committees statewide. Her clinical practice is focused on caring for the underinsured at a local health department family planning clinic. As a leader in transcultural nursing, Dr. McFarland has studied, practiced, consulted, and lectured throughout the United States and in various parts of Europe, Kenya, Taiwan, and Australia. She has conducted transcultural research studies focused on Polish, Anglo American, African American, Mexican American, and German American elders using Leininger's Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality. Dr. McFarland recently co-participated in a metasynthesis of culture care theory research studies guided by the Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality. Her scholarly interests include the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL), the translation of evidenced-based research into clinical practice, and the integration of transcultural nursing theory into nurse practitioner practice in diverse settings.
