[2] Shirley graduated from Sugar-Salem High School in 1951 and earned his bachelor's degree in sociology from Ricks College in 1955.
Shirley earned his master's degree in education administration from the University of Utah in 1957.
From 1957-1963, Shirley was a teacher and then a principal in the Sugar-Salem School District.
He returned to the University of Utah and completed his Ph.D. in higher education administration there in 1972.
He then was a faculty member, dean of students, and vice president of Ricks College until his retirement in 2000.