McGriff, Erline

Dr. Erline Perkins McGriff was born on February 18, 1924 in Petersburg, Va., where her parents ran a grocery store. She graduated from the Lucy Webb Hayes School of Nursing at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C. in 1945. She received her B.S. (1950) and M.S. (1953) degrees in Nursing Education from the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C., and her Ed.D. (1967) from Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York City.

Dr. McGriff has held positions in nursing service administration and nursing education and leadership roles in professional organizations. She became Dean of the School of Nursing at Trenton State College in Trenton, N.J. in 1973 and held that position until 1975, when she became a nursing professor and Head of the Division of Nursing, New York University (NYU). She served in this capacity until 1982 and continued to teach at NYU through 2001. As a leader in the field of nursing education, she has published many articles on the topic and until her retirement was a frequent speaker on the subject at conferences and conventions as well as in the classroom.

Dr. McGriff has proven to be a leader in AIDS education for health care providers. Her efforts in this area led to funds in excess of $12 million being raised for education programs at NYU; over 55,000 health care providers taking part in these programs. She has written extensively on the health care of AIDS patients and edited various publications on the subject.

Among the many professional organizations with which Dr. McGriff has been involved, as a leaders as well as a member, are the American Nurses Association, the National League for Nursing, the National Student Nurses Association, the Nursing Education Alumni Association of Teachers College, and the Foundation of the New York State Nurses Association.