{{Short description|American academic administrator (1936–2026)}} {{for|the Washington State senator|Lynda Wilson}} {{infobox officeholder | name = Linda S. Wilson | image = Linda S. Wilson, ca. 1989-1999 (13083779755).jpg | caption = Wilson as president of Radcliffe College | office = 7th President of Radcliffe College | term_start = 1989 | term_end = 1999 | predecessor = Matina Horner | birth_date = {{birth date|1936|11|10}} | birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2026|1|1|1936|11|10}} | death_place = | children = 2 | education = H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College (AB)<br>University of Wisconsin–Madison (PhD) | occupation = Academic administrator }}
'''Linda S. Wilson''' (November 10, 1936 – January 1, 2026) was an American academic administrator who served as president of Radcliffe College from 1989 to 1999.
== Early life == Wilson was born in Washington, D.C. on November 10, 1936.<ref name="Radcliffe Bio">{{cite web |title=Linda S. Wilson (Radcliffe College President from 1989 to 1999) |url=https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/linda-s-wilson |website=Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University |accessdate=28 May 2020 |language=en |date=23 September 2014 |archive-date=22 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210122123447/https://www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/linda-s-wilson |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Education == Wilson received an A.B. with honors from H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College at Tulane University (1957), and went on to receive a Ph.D in Chemistry from the University of Wisconsin-Madison (1962). She, also, received an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Newcomb College at Tulane University and an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Maryland and Tulane University.<ref name="finding aid">{{cite web|url=https://hollisarchives.lib.harvard.edu/repositories/8/resources/5883 |title=Wilson, Linda S. Records of the President of Radcliffe College, 1973-1999: A Finding Aid |date= |accessdate=2011-08-17}}</ref><ref name="ICANN">{{cite web|url=https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/linda-wilson-2014-05-23-en |title=Linda Wilson |publisher=ICANN |date= |accessdate=2020-05-26}}</ref><ref name="Radcliffe Bio"/><ref name="Archived NY Times">{{cite web |title=Linda Wilson |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/tech/deal/domain-wilson.html |website=archive.nytimes.com |accessdate=28 May 2020}}</ref>
== Career == Between 1964 and 1969, Wilson was a researcher and teacher at the University of Maryland, the University of Southampton in England, and the University of Missouri.<ref name="finding aid"/><ref name="Radcliffe Bio"/> Wilson became a university administrator at Washington University in St. Louis (1969–1974), and the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (1975–1985). From 1985 to 1989, Wilson was vice president for research at the University of Michigan.<ref name="finding aid"/><ref name="ICANN"/><ref name="Radcliffe Bio"/><ref name="Archived NY Times"/>
Wilson served as President of Radcliffe College from 1989 to 1999. She started several programs during her tenure. In 1991, she initiated the Radcliffe Research Partnership Program to foster undergraduate research opportunities. In 1993, she began the Radcliffe Public Policy Institute to encourage interdisciplinary research between scholars, policymakers, business and labor leaders, and members of the media. In 1993, Wilson, along with faculty members at Radcliffe College and six other Boston institutions, helped to start the Graduate Consortium in Women’s Studies to further advance scholarship in women's studies. After Harvard University and Radcliffe agreed to merge and created the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study in 1999, Wilson ended her tenure as president.<ref name="Radcliffe Bio"/>
She acted as an advisor to the United States Department of Energy and the National Research Council. She also served as a director for ICANN from October 1998 to June 26, 2003.<ref name="ICANN"/><ref name="Archived NY Times"/>
Wilson was a Trustee of the Committee on Economic Development, a Director of Myriad Genetics, Inc. and Inacom, Inc., and Honorary Trustee of the Massachusetts General Hospital, a member of the Board of Visitors for the University of Wisconsin College of Letters and Science, and a member of the Dean's Advisory Council of Newcomb College.<ref name="ICANN"/><ref name="Archived NY Times"/>
She was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and was a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. In addition, she was a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Science, and the Research Roundtable of the National Academy of Sciences.<ref name="finding aid"/><ref name="Radcliffe Bio"/>
==Personal life and death== Wilson was married, and had two children. She died on January 1, 2026, at the age of 89 in Auburn, Maine.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Linda Wilson Obituary and Online Memorial (2026)|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/linda-wilson-memorial?id=60613372|website=Legacy.com|access-date=2026-01-30}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:RAD.SCHL:sch01110 Papers, 1990-1998.] [http://radcliffe.harvard.edu/schlesinger-library Schlesinger Library], Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20121104032351/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-8123161.html FLAWLESS CREDENTIALS ONLY ONE SIDE OF RADCLIFFE'S NEW LEADER] * [https://icannwiki.org/Linda_Wilson Linda Wilson] ICANNwiki.
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Linda S.}} Category:1936 births Category:2026 deaths Category:University of Michigan faculty Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Category:Presidents of Radcliffe College Category:H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College alumni Category:Members of the National Academy of Medicine Category:University of Missouri faculty Category:Washington University in St. Louis staff Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science