Shirley Carew Titus served as Dean of Vanderbilt University School of Nursing from 1931 until 1938 where she oversaw the establishment of the first college level degree program in nursing in the United States. She was born April 20, 1892 in Alameda, California. She was a graduate of St. Luke\'s School of Nursing in San Francisco where she also served as an assistant director for nurses. She later earned a B.S. from Columbia University, and a M.A. from the University of Michigan. Before coming to Vanderbilt as Dean and Professor of Nursing Education, she was Director of Nursing at the University of Michigan Hospital. Following her departure from Vanderbilt, she served as Executive Director of the California Nurses Association from 1942 until 1956. She was recognized as a national leader in nursing, particularly in the area of economic security for nurses, and was a key figure in obtaining the nation\'s first collective bargaining contract for nurses in Oakland in 1947. She died March 21, 1967 in San Francisco, California.