In her 18 years as a trustee of the University of Illinois–and as the first female board president–Nina T. Shepherd was an advocate for the increased role of women in government and politics, and a champion of the system’s Chicago campus, said her family and former colleagues.
Ms. Shepherd, who was elected to her first six-year term on the U. of I. board in 1974 and selected board president in 1985, died of cancer Saturday, Jan. 18, in Rush North Shore Hospice in Skokie. The Winnetka resident was 69.
“She’s a person who would remind us at board meetings why we were there–to be educators of students and to give them the highest education,” said U. of I. President James Stukel, who served as a chancellor of the U. of I. at Chicago during Ms. Shepherd’s tenure on the board. “She was always a thorn in our sides in a positive way.”
At a time when the university system’s board was dominated by members outside the Chicago area, Ms. Shepherd worked ardently to ensure that the UIC would not get short shrift in funding, officials said.
“She was a graduate of the Urbana campus and loved it dearly, but was an unrelenting, fierce advocate for the Chicago campus at a time when most of the board had an Urbana orientation,” said former U. of I. President Stanley Ikenberry, whose term closely paralleled Ms. Shepherd’s. “She provided the needed balance on the other side.”
Ms. Shepherd is credited with restarting UIC’s study abroad program for undergraduates and working at the fore in the launch of Food for Century III, a project that aimed to regenerate the university’s link with the agricultural industry. She also was an influential force on the consolidation of the Chicago campuses in 1982, Ikenberry said.
She was motivated by “wanting to make things right,” said her son Paul. “She was concerned about everybody getting a chance, regardless of gender, race and religion.”
Born in Dallas, Ms. Shepherd grew up in Decatur, Ill. She received a bachelor’s degree in history and political science with magna cum laude honors from the U. of I., where she also did graduate work teaching social studies and black history. She did the same at Northwestern University.
Ms. Shepherd taught 2nd grade at Edwards Air Force Base in California for a while and then returned to the Chicago area, living in Glencoe and Winnetka.
Active in Democratic Party politics, Ms. Shepherd served as a delegate to national conventions in 1972, 1976 and 1984. She also served on a various boards.
Other survivors include another son, David; a sister, Ann McDonell; and five grandchildren.
A service will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday in St. Elisabeth Episcopal Church, 556 Vernon Ave., Glencoe.
