Accession UAA-1990-060 - UAA-1990-060

Shirley Marie Stinson was born in Arlee, Saskatchewan in 1929. She was the second of three children of Edwin and Mary (Ismond) Stinson. During the Great Depression, Shirley moved to Tofield, Alberta with her family in 1935, which she considered her home province.
In 1953, Shirely graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing. After graduation, her nursing career began in Alberta as a public health nurse. Shirely earned her Master’s degree in nursing administration from the University of Minnesota in 1958, followed by four years working as associate director of nursing services at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children. In 1969, she got her Doctor of Education degree from Teacher’s College, Columbia University. Dr. Stinson became the first Alberta nurse to complete a doctoral program. She joined the Nursing faculty at the University of Alberta in 1969. She was Joint Professor of the Faculties of Nursing and the Department of Public Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, and later she held the Professor Emerita status. Between 1985 and 1991, she was an Adjunct Professor for Life, Faculty of Nursing at the University of Calgary.
Dr. Stinson established Western Canada’s first Masters in Nursing program focusing on nursing research in 1975 at the University of Alberta, which led to the nation’s first doctoral degree program in nursing in 1991. She was also a dedicated fund-raiser for nursing research and played a key role in convincing the Government of Alberta to support nursing research. Through the support from the province of Alberta, the Alberta Foundation for Nursing Research was established in 1982, with Dr. Stinson as the Founding Chair.
Dr. Stinson’s vision on improving patient care through nursing research has earned recognition from her international colleagues. Throughout her career she has published more than 100 articles, chapters, books, and reports. She was also a consultant to international organizations such as World Health Organization in Geneva, Pan American World Health Organization, and Colombian Nurses Association in Bogota.
Stinson’s contributions to higher education in nursing and nursing research at the provincial, national, and international level earned her many awards. She became the first nurse and woman to receive the Senior National Health Scientist Research Award in 1972 and was awarded Canada's highest two nursing awards: the Ross Award in Nursing Leadership from the Canadian Nurses Foundation, and the Canadian Nurses Association’s Jeanne Mance Award. She received the Order of Canada in 2002, and the Alberta Order of Excellence. She also holds four honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Laws from the University of Calgary and a Doctor of Science from Memorial University in Newfoundland.
Dr. Stinson officially retired in 1993. She maintained an office in the U of A Faculty of Nursing to continue sharing her experience and knowledge and maintaining contacts with nursing colleagues around the world. Stinson died on June 4, 2020 in Edmonton, Alberta from complications of Parkinson’s Disease at the age of 90.