KU News Release

Del Shankel

Structural Biology Center

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UPDATE 2/3/10: The dedication and renaming ceremony will be at 4 p.m. April 15 at the SBC.

LAWRENCE — The Structural Biology Center at the University of Kansas will be named for Del Shankel, chancellor emeritus and professor emeritus of microbiology, in honor of his 50 years of leadership, teaching, scholarship and service to the university.

The Kansas Board of Regents today approved naming the $22.2 million, 44,000-square-foot building the Delbert M. Shankel Structural Biology Center. The facility, which is a hub for scientific research on KU’s expanding west campus, will be a lasting tribute to Shankel, who began his career as an assistant professor of microbiology in 1959.

Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said naming the Structural Biology Center for Shankel is a fitting recognition of his dedication to the sciences, mentorship to students and leadership.

“Honoring Chancellor Shankel by placing his name upon a facility at the center of KU’s growing research effort will be a reminder for years to come of his service to the university and state,” she said. “Throughout his academic and administrative career, Del has remained devoted to his scientific discipline of microbiology. He maintained an active laboratory program and advised countless master’s and doctoral students. He is the consummate university professor, fostering interdisciplinary communication and confluence whenever he could.”

The first sections of the building were completed in 2004. Two additional wings opened in 2008. The building houses the Specialized Chemistry Center, a National Institutes of Health-funded Center of Excellence in Chemical Methodologies and Library Development; the High-Throughput Screening Laboratory; the Center for Cancer Experimental Therapeutics, an NIH-funded Center of Biomedical Research Excellence; and the labs of Blake Peterson, the first Kansas Bioscience Authority Eminent Scholar.

Shankel held numerous leadership positions at KU. He was acting chancellor from 1980 to 1981 and chancellor from 1994 to 1995. He was chair of the Department of Microbiology, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, executive vice chancellor, interim director of intercollegiate athletics, acting vice chancellor for academic affairs and, most recently, interim president of the KU Alumni Association.

As a faculty member, Shankel trained dozens of doctoral and master’s students and countless undergraduate students. He also was a respected researcher, a member of the American Society for Microbiology and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. At KU, he was named the Mortar Board Outstanding Educator three times and received the KU Alumni Association’s Ellsworth Medallion for Outstanding Service and Distinguished Service Citation.

“It is hard to imagine that any member of the KU faculty or administrative staff is more worthy of this honor than Del Shankel,” said Danny Anderson, interim provost and executive vice chancellor. “He has served as mentor to countless KU administrators and staff members, and has instilled in them an ongoing commitment to educational service.”