Under Connie Delaney’s nearly 20-year leadership, the University of Minnesota School of Nursing was one of the first nursing schools in the country to design, approve, and begin admitting students to a doctor of nursing practice (DNP) program. The school was the first to offer DNP degrees in nurse anesthesia, nursing informatics, health innovation and leadership, and integrative health and healing. She led the creation of 10 academic practice partnerships aimed at improving nursing practice and education and patient outcomes. Centering the nursing shortage, Cross expanded the school’s partnership with University of Minnesota Rochester and Mayo Clinic to target enrollment. She also co-created, with the state, the Center for Nursing Equity and Excellence, which works with every nursing school in Minnesota, health care providers, and others invested in improving Minnesotans’ health care and expanding equity in the nursing workforce.