SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Evangel University Alumni Association will honor Shirley Shedd — professor emeritus, former chair of the Department of Communication and current archivist — on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015.
The Trees of Honor ceremony will be held at 11 a.m., during the Homecoming Celebration Luncheon in the University Plaza Convention Center.
She will be recognized along with two other retired members of the Evangel family.
“I have been thrilled to work with talented, energetic young people and see them go out literally into the four corners of our world as productive professionals and committed Christians,” said Shedd, who also served for 25 years as advisor to the The Lance, Evangel’s campus newspaper.
The National Society of Collegiate Journalists honored her as the first recipient of the “Adviser of the Year” award in 2000, for her work with The Lance. In addition, she was inducted into the Missouri College Media Association “Advisor Hall of Fame” in 2007.
Trees of Honor
The Trees of Honor project began as an idea formed by a small group of graduates from the early 1960s and took root following Springfield’s great ice storm of 2007. The idea was to help replace lost trees and restore the natural beauty of the campus.
Trees have been planted on Evangel’s campus in acknowledgement of the legacy of service each of the recipients has provided to the university. An engraved bronze plaque is placed at the base of each tree as a permanent tribute to the person being honored.
A lifetime of service
Shirley (Hansen) Shedd has been involved with Evangel for nearly six decades.
She was a student at Evangel (then College) from 1958 to 1962, and has been a participant of every homecoming since. She has been active in the Evangel University Auxiliary since the 1960s, serving in leadership positions on the local and national level, including as president. She was also an early member of the Alumni Board of Directors.
Shedd taught journalism at Springfield’s Central High School from 1963-1969. In 1976, she began a five-year stint at Central Bible College, teaching English and writing.
When a position at Evangel came open in 1981, she joined the faculty as a full-time English and journalism teacher. In 1987, she was appointed as chair of the Department of Communication, a position she held until her retirement in 2006.
With all of this, Shedd also had time to serve as the advisor for the local chapter of the Society for Collegiate Journalists for 25 years and served as a national officer for several years.
Under her leadership, Evangel’s campus newspaper, The Lance, was inducted into the “Associated Collegiate Press Hall of Fame” in 1998.
After she retired, Shedd began working with Betty Chase in the university archives. Upon Chase’s retirement, Shedd became the university archivist.
“Shirley has been a strategic and valued partner with the alumni department and the public relations department for decades,” said Paul K. Logsdon, director of public relations at Evangel. “She regularly provides research and photos on alumni and events related to Evangel, and she has written numerous times for Vision magazine.”
Shirley is married to Glenroy Shedd, also a 1962 Evangel graduate, and together they have three children and 12 grandchildren.
Additional Trees of Honor award recipients for 2015 include:
- Dr. Glenn H. Bernet, retired provost/vice president of academic affairs and former professor of mathematics
- W.E. “Gene” Thomlinson, retired director of campus security/public safety
For more information, contact the Evangel University Alumni Relations Department at (417) 865-2811, ext. 7333.