William L. Holzemer

William L. Holzemer is a Distinguished Professor and Dean Emeritus of the School of Nursing at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. He is also Professor Emeritus at the University of California San Francisco School of Nursing (USCF SON) and Distinguished Honorary Professor at St. Luke’s University, Tokyo. He currently serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the Japan Journal of Nursing Science. In recent years, Dr. Holzemer’s work has focused on clinical care and research to improve the quality of life for people and families living with HIV/AIDS, with an aim to eliminate health disparities for patients challenged by stigma, symptom management, and medication adherence. 
An active nurse leader and researcher for over five decades, receiving his first R01 grant in 1978 to study nurse practitioner clinical decision-making, Dr. Holzemer has extensive experience as a nurse scientist and his work, particularly in HIV/AIDS, has made an international impact. Dr. Holzemer founded the International Nursing Network for HIV/AIDS Research in 1996, focused on conducting and disseminating nursing research to help people live well with HIV. From 2000-2004, he coordinated a project with nurse faculty from Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland on self and family symptom management for people with HIV/AIDS. From 2002-2007, he co-directed the Nursing Research Center on HIV/AIDS Health Disparities (P20), linking faculty in HIV research from the University of Puerto Rico and UCSF SON. From 2004-2009, he led a five-year R01 study examining the role of stigma and discrimination on the quality of life for persons living with HIV/AIDS and on the quality of work life for nurses caring for HIV/AIDS patients in Lesotho, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, and Tanzania. As a dedicated mentor and research advocate, Dr. Holzemer directed a T32 grant which supported pre- and post-doctoral fellows at UCSF SON for 13 years.

Dr. Holzemer served on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s first HIV guideline panel, Evaluation & Treatment of Early HIV Infection, and two National Academy of Medicine committees, including Measuring What Matters: Allocation, Planning, Quality Assessment for the Ryan White Care Act and The Science of Changing Behavioral Health Norms. From 2004-2007, he served as a member and chair of the care sub-panel that evaluated the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) which is managed by the U.S. Department of State. He served as a member/chair of a National Institute of Health study section and as a member of the National Institute of Nursing Research Council. He has provided leadership in academic nursing and HIV/AIDS care to the World Health Organization, the International Council on Nursing, and many universities worldwide.  

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Dr. Holzemer was inducted as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing (Academy) in 1986, previously served on the Academy Board, and helped shepherd the establishment of the Academy’s Council for the Advancement of Nursing (CANS), in 2000, serving as its first Chair. He is a member of NAM, a member of the Japan Academy of Nursing, a former Fulbright Scholar (Egypt), and a former Project HOPE Fellow (USA-Mexico Border). In 2012, he received The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays from Japanese Government for contributions to the development of academic nursing in Japan. He has served on several governing councils, including for CGFNS Inc. and as a past President of the American Nurses Foundation. Additionally, Dr. Holzemer has served as an external reviewer for agencies such as the Finnish Academy and African Nursing Honor Society. He earned his PhD from Syracuse University, MS from Miami University Ohio, Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Washington, and BSN from San Francisco State University.