Education

Girod was born and raised in Salem, Oregon. He graduated from the University of California, Davis, with a Bachelor of Science in chemistry, then attended the University of California, San Francisco, for his doctorate of medicine, and completed his residency and an National Institute of Health research fellowship at the University of Washington in Seattle.^[4]

Career

Beginning in 1982, Girod began his 15-year career in the United States Navy Reserve where he worked at the Naval Hospital Oakland as a surgeon and the Director of Otolaryngology. In 1997, Girod was honorably discharged from the military, ending his career as a Lieutenant Commander.^[5] In 1994, Girod left California to become a surgeon at the KU Medical Center.^[6] During his time at the KU Medical Center, Girod was a professor, department chair, senior associate dean, interim executive dean, and his most recent post of executive vice chancellor.^[7]

University of Kansas chancellor

On May 25, 2017, the Kansas Board of Regents announced Girod as the 18th chancellor of the University of Kansas.^[8] During his time as chancellor, Girod has increased the university's enrollment,^[9] established a partnership between Kansas Athletics, the University of Kansas Health System and Lawrence Memorial Health to create Kansas Team Health, a model that provides better care for student athletes and moved all healthcare professionals under the Kansas Health System's payroll.^[10]

A year into being chancellor, Girod fired athletic director Sheahon Zenger due to a lack of progress in the school's athletic performance.^[11] Almost a month later, Girod hired Jeff Long as the new athletics director, tasking him with fixing the football program.^[12] Long fired David Beaty at the end of the 2018 football season, ending with a 6–42 record at Kansas.^[13] Long then hired Les Miles to improve the football program to a championship-caliber program, however, Miles was fired on March 9, 2021, after accusations from women while he was at LSU.^[14] The next day, Girod fired Long as the athletics director.^[15]

In April 2021, Girod hired Travis Goff as the new athletics director, whose first task was to hire a new football coach.^[16] Almost a month later, Goff named Lance Leipold as the next football coach.^[17] Leipold, in just his second season, led the Jayhawks to a 5–0 start for the first time since 2008 and also coached the team to be bowl-eligible for the first time since 2008.^[18]

In 2025, Girod was the fourth highest paid employee of the state of Kansas, with a reported salary of $925,000.^[19]