Some call him a national treasure; others say he’s a rock star and a legend. Most call him Shep.
For nearly half a century, F. Shepperd Shanley has been introducing Northwestern to prospective students around the globe. And honestly, he says, in 49 years the job hasn’t changed much. It’s still all about making connections — and by all accounts, that’s what Shanley does best.
“Everybody is an instant friend,” says Chris Watson, Northwestern’s dean of undergraduate enrollment.
Shanley’s colleagues and friends describe him in glowing terms: thoughtful, loyal, charming and whip smart, animated, intellectually curious and always upbeat. “It’s almost infectious, this love of life that Shep has,” says Del Crandall ’84, a longtime friend who met Shanley in 1980.
Carol Lunkenheimer, the former dean for undergraduate admission who retired in 2007, appreciated his calming presence, especially on days when she had to deal with disappointed parents.
“He isn’t your typical ‘road runner,’ as we used to call ourselves in admissions,” says longtime friend Rebecca Dixon, the former associate provost for university enrollment. “He has a fount of knowledge and an elephantine memory. Shep was always viewed as an honest reflection of the University.”
“There just aren’t many like him anymore,” Watson adds, “and that’s a shame.”
Shanley, a senior associate director of admission, will retire at the end of June. The son of former faculty members J. Lyndon and Barbara Smith Shanley ’37 MA/MS, Shanley started working in admission at Northwestern in January 1971, after earning degrees at Princeton and Harvard and teaching Advanced Placement U.S. history and European history at three East Coast boarding schools.
During his tenure at Northwestern, Shanley pioneered global recruiting trips. When he went on his first overseas trip for the University in 1980, there were 14 international students in the entering class. Last year’s incoming class included more than 225 international students, accounting for 11% of the class.
Dixon says Shanley, a Francophile, was the right man for the job. In the 1980s, “Northwestern was on the cusp of becoming a real phenomenon, competing with the Ivies and Stanford and Duke,” she says. “Having international students adds to your cache, but it also broadens the horizons of the non-international students at the University. Shep was the perfect person to go, particularly to European schools and eventually Asian schools. He’s dignified, knowledgeable, kind of a man of the world, and I think that came across internationally.”
For 15 years Shanley directed the Alumni Admission Council, connecting Northwestern alumni with prospective students. Membership in the AAC grew under his watch, as did the number of interviews that alumni conducted with prospective students.
“I was able to provide a way for alumni to use their enthusiasm for Northwestern,” Shanley says. “This was a help to what we do, a help to the students who had an opportunity to contact someone locally, and a help to the AAC members who felt they were engaged in doing something that was all good.”
Since 1976 Shanley has served as a faculty fellow at Willard Residential College, “a place where I’ve made some friends forever,” he says. He sometimes invited his father, then a professor emeritus of English — and namesake of Shanley Hall — to do humorous poetry readings.
Shanley's involvement at Willard, including six years as master, “was a way to connect with a group of undergraduates early on,” Shanley explains. “I could be with them as their experience grew and talk to them about it — not be an adviser or a counselor, but just kind of a friend. It meant a lot to me to be part of student life after admissions had done its work, and to know people who were here.”
Crandall, “a committed Willardite,” met Shanley as a first-year student. Shanley spent a lot of time with students at Willard lunches, dinners and faculty-student social events. One thing in particular impressed Crandall: Shanley listens.
“Shep was not judgmental, and you could share something about yourself or your plans and know that you had a good sounding board,” recalls Crandall. “He really wanted to learn what we were interested in and what we wanted to do with our lives and how he could help us with some of that.”
Crandall met his wife, Barbara Puckett Crandall ’84, at Northwestern, and they sent their three sons — William ’14, Andrew ’16 and Edward, a rising senior — to the University. When each of their sons were considering schools, they’d go visit Northwestern for a tour and a meeting with Shanley.
“He always wanted to talk directly with my sons,” says Crandall, the deputy judge advocate general for the U.S. Navy. “It was about their choice of a university and what was going to be best for their futures.”
When Edward was wait-listed at Northwestern, it was Shanley who called him to deliver the news that he’d finally been accepted. “That was really appropriate,” Crandall says, “because that’s what it’s about — the student working with the staff and learning to become an adult and to guide his own life.”
Shanley says the connections that he’s made with students, alumni and school counselors around the world have meant the most to him. And don’t expect the anything-but-retiring Shanley to disappear from Northwestern. He plans to stay involved in the life of the University and hopes to sing in a chorus.
“This has been a wonderful experience, a great run,” he says. “The wind has been at Northwestern’s back. It’s been a very good place to be because it was always moving forward. That’s hard to beat.”
Reader Responses
As a high school senior in Baltimore, I met Shep Shanley at a NU recruitment event. I had never heard of Northwestern, but Shep enthusiastically filled me in. He made quite an impression.
A year later, I ran into Shep on my first day on campus in 1982. He greeted me by name as if we had known each other forever. I knew I had found the perfect school for me. It still is!
Thanks and congratulations, Shep!
—Steven Morrison, Professor, Bienen School of Music ’86 Evanston, via Northwestern Magazine
One of the greats. Although I remember much bigger hair.
—Larry Kamer ’79 Napa, Calif.
I was just sharing the story of my “impromptu” interview with Shep this past week. I toured NU on a very cold and rainy Tuesday in November of '82. Upon returning to the admissions office, I was asked if I wanted to have an interview, as a slot had opened up on the schedule. I was drenched and clueless, but he was warm and welcoming and made me feel like I belonged at NU.
—Karen Bocklund Akens ’87 Richmond, Va., via Northwestern Magazine
Shep interviewed me in the fall of 1972. Until that interview I was not particularly interested in NU. He impressed me with his wit, charm and intelligence. It was a fascinating conversation.
I attended NU, and my experience there has impacted me for the rest of my life. I have been a loyal alum ever since. My daughter Sarah is a proud graduate as well.
Shep, I will forever be grateful to you for admitting me to Northwestern — it helped shape my life.
—Bruce Topol ’76 Wells, Maine, via Northwestern Magazine
From that interview outside Boston in 1974 through a dangling phone conversation last week, Shep has been my connection to Northwestern. I am not alone. Well done, friend.
—Daniel Rubin ’78 Philadelphia, via Northwestern Magazine
I remember like yesterday when Shep spoke to my Cherub class about the joys of a Northwestern education. I interviewed that summer with Shep, applied early and enrolled to live in Willard Hall. That was more than 35 years ago, and my memories of that interview are crystal clear. Congratulations on your retirement, and thank you for introducing me to an amazing experience.
—Meredith Bergman ’89 New Canaan, Conn., via Northwestern Magazine
Shep was a wonderful part of my Northwestern and Willard Hall experience. Congratulations on a well-earned retirement!
—Sarah Norris Lundquist ’91 Oakton, Va., via Northwestern Magazine
Congratulations, Shep! Thank you for making Willard such a wonderful place to be!
—Kenneth Schaefle ’90 New York City, via Northwestern Magazine
Shep “shepherded” me and Julie S. as we planned the parties during Willard’s 50th anniversary. He is a true gem, and those of us lucky enough to spend time with him are forever blessed.
—Dennis Curley ’90 Minneapolis, via Northwestern Magazine
Shep, congrats on this milestone. Reading this story took me back to a lot of memories of NU and Willard.
—Scott Weaver ’90 Bainbridge Island, Wash., via Northwestern Magazine
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