2A THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
ON THE BOULEVARD
NEWS
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2005
At home at KU, for 46 years Many positions and many classes later, he's still here But being Mr. Everything wasn't easy. Provost David Shulenburger, who got to know Shankel in different capacities
BY FRANK TANKARD
ftankard@kansan.com
KANSAN STAFF WRITER
Del Shankel doesn't have to come here anymore. He could be relaxing at home, playing golf, sitting on a beach. He could be anywhere. But he'd rather be in 1002 Haworth Hall, his office.
Tokens of achievement line the room: three Mortar Board Outstanding Educator plaques, a few science books with his name on the title page, a game ball from a KU football game. The room reads like a remarkable resume. But shiny metal plaques and heavy hardbound books don't tell the story.
As people who have been around the University of Kansas for a while know, Del Shankel seems to have held every office at the University, including two terms as interim chancellor, all the while continuing to teach classes.
But Shankel's story isn't about a list of accomplishments. It's a story of sincerity and loyalty, of a man whom Chancellor Robert Hemenway says represents "all that is good about KU."
Mr. Everything
Shankel, now 78, arrived at the University in 1959 as an assistant professor of microbiology — then called bacteriology
— with a salary of $6,000 a year.
His interim duties started six years later when he filled in as chairman of the bacteriology department while the regular chairman went on sabbatical.
He went on to become the University's designated pinch hitter, filling the positions (hold your breath): assistant, associate and then interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, executive vice chancellor, interim chancellor twice, interim athletics director twice, interim executive vice chancellor twice and, in 2004, interim president and CEO of the Kansas Alumni Association.
In 1980, KU football coach Don Fambrough asked Shankel to speak to the players before a game against Iowa State. The team was fresh off a 54-0 home loss to Nebraska and faltering with a 1-3-1 record.
"You could hear a pin drop," Fambrough said. "They just listened to every word he had to say. He was funny, he was sincere. He was just a person — he's hard to describe. I would just say all he wanted was to see the University be successful in every phase."
The team won the game 28-17 and went on to win half of its remaining games. Shankel was given an autographed game ball.
But being Mr. Everything wasn't easy. Provost David Shulenburger, who got to know Shankel in different capacities over the years, is serious when he says Shankel gave much of his life to KU.
"It did take a toll on my home life and the time spent with the kids, which sometimes now I regret," said Shankel, who has two grown daughters, one in Spokane, Wash., and the other in Walnut Creek, Calif.
"But what's past is past," he said.
Shankel once considered leaving the University, when he was offered the job as chancellor at the University of Maryland's College Park campus after his first term as KU interim chancellor in 1980-81.
He and his wife, Carol, stayed up until 3 a.m. discussing the job. He decided to turn down the offer. Students, friends and the KU atmosphere were too much to cut loose. He decided then that he would stay at the University of Kansas forever.
"I came here like many young faculty, thinking I'd spend four or five years here, then go someplace 'better,'" he said. "Turned out that this was 'better.'"
And so he stayed, all the way through retirement. Though he officially retired in 1996, he continued to teach Introduction to Biology to classes of 175 to
Forever a Jayhawk
"I think I could still do a good job, but at some point I can't do as good a job as I'd like to," he said. "I would rather stop teaching before somebody else really thought it was time for me to stop."
He continues to come in to his office nearly every day, usually between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. He finds enough work to keep him busy: writing letters of recommendation, keeping up with science journals, serving on scholarship committees.
He keeps in touch with former students such as Segaran Pillai, senior medical and science adviser for the Department of Homeland Security in Washington, D.C. Pillai earned his doctoral degree in molecular genetics with Shankel as his adviser in 1996.
"He has become a lifelong friend." Pillai said.
On nights and weekends, Shankel attends KU sporting events, concerts and plays. Posters of almost every KU team decorate the far side of his office. He volunteers as a faculty mentor for the KU softball team, and in the spring, he plans to be a volunteer official at the KU Reways for the 36th straight year.
"I guess I feel best when I'm still contributing something," he said.
Kim Andrews/KANSAN
Del Shankel has had a long, prolific career at the University of Kansas beginning in 1959 when he came to KU until he retired from teaching in 1996. Courses he taught ranged from biology and microbiology courses to Honors Western Civilization and Freshmen Honors Tutorials. Shankel still is involved, writing letters of recommendation for biology students, serving on scholarship committees and keeping up with scientific journals.
Shankel has been here for 46 years. The University is ingrained in him, almost as deep as he's ingrained in the University.
"I don't believe that many institutions have folks like Del," Shulenburger said.
— Edited by Theresa Montaño
BY ESTUARDO GARCIA
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Top 10 ways to reduce your heating bill this winter
10. Close the damper in fireplace when not in use.
Lower the thermostat when fireplace is in use.
8. Close the vents in rooms you do not use.
9. Open drapes and windows during the day to let sun heat your home and close at night for better insulation.
7. Find and fix leaks and cracks in windows, doors, pipes, electrical and phone lines and dryer ducts.
8. Insulate your attic.
5. Change to a programmable thermostat, if possible.
4. Lower your thermostat a few degrees.
3. Check your air ducts for gaps, leaks or discon
2. Replace furnace filters.
1. Lower your hot water thermostat about 10 degrees.
Source: "10 Easy Tips to Save Money on Your Home heating
Bills" by Greg Quincy
BELIEFS
Group promotes alternative forms of fun
BY ERIC JORGENSEN
editor@kansan.com
KANSAN CORRESPONDENT
Evan Toren was a different person before he was a Mountain Dewd.
The Shawne senior's high school expelled him during his junior year, his parents continually kicked him out of the house, and he drank and partied too much, he said.
During this time, he learned a valuable lesson.
“These people who I thought were my friends weren't there for me when I needed them most.” Toren said. . .
Toren decided to clean up. He stopped partying, got back into school, and no longer relied on those friends for help. In college, he quickly found more people like him who wanted to break the social norm of drinking and partying.
Toren became close with his new friends, and today they are best friends. They created a social network and started a group called the Mountain Dews.
The group now has more than 40 members and many more who regularly attend Mountain Dewds'
events. The group now has an Oklahoma State chapter.
The mission of the Mountain Dews is to "promote awesomeness." The group encourages people with the same interests to follow through with those ideals. It encourages a more civilized college lifestyle, one without excessive alcohol and promiscuity.
The group has its own shirts and an unofficial parking pass and has evolved from its beginning in the spring of 2003. Many of the original members live together and their house plays base to all the activities they plan. Brian Colter, Seattle, Wash., senior and high school friend of Toren, recently started the Oklahoma State branch.
The lifestyle is what makes the group members so close, as well as attracts new recruits, group members said.
"We joke around and just say that everything we do is simply 'awesome,' but really, what we want is to draw people into a fun, close-knit community through what we do," said Andy Schuttler, Lenexa senior.
The original members rank from
undergraduates and graduates such as Toren and Schuttler to Asheville, N.C. senior and men's basketball player Christian Moody. Although the original members are devout Christians, they said religion is not the motivator of the group. Toren said some members' beliefs rubbed off onto some of the newer members, but it was an indirect cause. Schuttler echoed his friend's remarks.
"Even though most of us share our faith in common, I wouldn't say we're an evangelistic group. We want to make the most of the time we're in college," Schuttler said.
Toren and Nick Williamson, Kansas City, Mo., senior, both said the type of person they looked for were individuals who followed their friends to bars or parties, but didn't actually want to be there. They said many people felt pressured or obligated to go out drinking with friends, when they really had no desire to.
Some of those people have found their way to the Mountain Dewds.
"Outside of promoting awesomeness we try to come up with clever ways to have fun, try to stay just outside the typical college norm," Williamson said.
Rather than an night of drinking, the group organizes "Twister Parties," where everyone plays twister. They also plan alcohol-free dance parties. One favorite accomplishment was getting 90 people together to attend a Kansas City Royals game, group members said.
Toren said the group did not discourage drinking, but did not feel obliged to follow through with what he called the college student stereotype.
"We all have the same sensibilities of the world and share the same convictions," Toren said. "We don't see anything constructive about the stereotype of college students. We've been there, and it's not for us."
Toren said they looked for people who resembled them — people such as Toren — who have pasts of partying and have seen the stereotypical life of a college student, and want to find something else. He said the Mountain Dewds wanted to show them a path in which alcohol and partying was not the only option.
The group is not affiliated with PepsiCo.
Edited by Erick R. Schmidt
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