Prior to accepting the position at SF State, Girouard was an associate professor of nursing at Southern Connecticut State University, health consultant for an early childcare program and a geriatric staff nurse at Evergreen Woods Health Facility in North Branford, Conn.

This is Girouard's first move away from the East Coast where she was educated and built her career. She holds a Ph.D. in health and social policy from Brandeis University; an MSN in medical-surgical nursing from Yale University; an M.A. in medical sociology from University of Connecticut and a B.A. in sociology from Eastern Connecticut State College. She is a graduate of the Hartford Hospital School of Nursing in Hartford, Conn.

Girouard served as executive director of the American Nurses Association from 1993 to 1994; program officer for the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation from 1987 to 1993; and vice president of child health and financing at the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions. Throughout her career Girouard consulted in the areas of organization, delivery and financing of health care services including managed care, research and program evaluation. Her clients included the Orkand Corporation and Central Vermont Hospital. In the public sector, Girouard served as a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives and as a policy analyst for the State of Connecticut.

"We are pleased to welcome Shirley Girouard," said Don Taylor, dean of the College of Health and Human Services. "In addition to her administrative, clinical and teaching experience, she brings a commitment to and enthusiasm for engaging faculty in scholarly research and writing."

Girouard said that she wasn't looking for a change in employment when the opportunity arose. But the more she learned about SF State the more interested she became in pulling up stakes. "I am very impressed with the San Francisco State nursing school's interdisciplinary approach and commitment to and interaction with its community," she said.

After visiting campus, Girouard was convinced. "There's such a sense of joy here," she said. "It's a very attractive campus and everyone from the students to the faculty and staff that I met seemed to me to be so full of purpose and energy."

Girouard added that the move to SF State provides the perfect opportunity for her to turn her passion for improving the health and well being of people into action. "Nursing, and thus nursing education, is a mechanism to do this… I look forward to working with the committed and engaged faculty and staff at the University to make a difference for students and for those needing the expertise of professional nurses."

Girouard, who enjoys kayaking, is looking forward to exploring California waters.

Founded in 1955, the School of Nursing in the College of Health and Human Services educates about 250 undergraduates and 150 graduate students each year.

-- Denize Springer