Irving Shain

Throughout a long and distinguished career, Irving Shain has established an impressive record of leadership, service and achievement as an educator, researcher, administrator, and business executive.

Shain’s academic career began in the fall of 1952 when he accepted an offer to join the department of chemistry at the University of Wisconsin in Madison as an instructor. During the early years of his tenure at the university, he rose steadily in the faculty ranks, teaching a variety of courses and serving as a mentor to a number of students who would become successful and influential leaders in business, industry, academia, and public and governmental service. He fostered a strong departmental commitment to establishing excellence in teaching undergraduate majors and non-majors through innovative teaching techniques and programs. He was particularly concerned that first and second year chemistry students develop a sound basic knowledge of the subject.
At the same time, Shain made important contributions to the field of electro-chemistry. His consummate achievement in this regard is a paper he co-authored with his graduate student Richard S. Nicholson. Their paper was named in the journal Analytical Chemistry as one of the ten most cited papers in the period 1945-1999.

Irving Shain in his lab in 1958.

In addition to his teaching and research activities in his department, Shain demonstrated a talent and affinity for administrative matters. As a result, his colleagues selected him to serve as department chair from 1967 to 1970. Shain’s talents and capacity for work were recognized beyond the department---to the point that he was appointed by Chancellor Edwin Young to be vice chancellor for academic affairs, a job which also included oversight of matters relating to budget, planning and analysis, facilities, physical plant, and personnel.

Shain assumed his new position at a time of considerable unrest on the campus. Protests and demonstrations against the war in Vietnam became a regular occurrence. Young and Shain, under great pressure, worked successfully in tandem to keep the university open and functioning in the face of periodic disruptions.

The turbulent years of the late 1960s and early 1970s on campus also marked a period of significant changes in the administrative and academic profile of the university. The most sweeping and far-reaching change came with the merger of the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin State Universities into a single University of Wisconsin System. Shain made a special point of seeing that the institutional mission and integrity of the UW-Madison were properly preserved in the process. He also recognized that the continuing excellence of the university depended on maintaining strength across the campus. He worked closely with deans, directors, and faculty to help them maintain the quality of their programs. A prime example during this period was the leadership Shain provided through serving as the primary catalyst for the establishment of the Center for Health Sciences, an administrative amalgamation of University Hospital and Clinics and the schools of medicine, nursing, and pharmacy.

Shain’s overall accomplishments and abilities did not go unrecognized beyond the campus. In 1975, he was recruited by his alma mater, the University of Washington, to assume the position of vice president and provost. Although he felt comfortable in that role, he could not resist the temptation to return to Madison when he was asked to succeed Edwin Young as chancellor.

As chancellor, Irv Shain’s responsibilities and horizons expanded considerably. He responded to the challenge with his characteristic insight and enthusiasm. A new dimension he encountered was a direct involvement in external relations, assuming the role of the principal representative of the university to a wide variety of publics. He maintained regular contact with alumni and friends of the university and became an active participant in issues related to the growing national prominence of intercollegiate athletics. He also participated in community activities, serving for several years on the board of Madison General Hospital.

Chancellor Shain leading the cheers.

Primarily, there was the continuing need to attend to the well-being of the academic program. This included a broad number of concerns ranging from curriculum reform to the establishment of a new School of Veterinary Medicine and fending off a threat to abolish the Synchrotron Radiation Center. Building on an earlier university commitment to area studies and exchange programs, Shain capitalized on a personal interest, reinforced by his academic and governmental connections, to create an exchange program for faculty and graduate students from the Peoples Republic of China.

Shain had been one of the first administrators on campus to recognize that the ever-expanding developments in technology were generating dramatic changes within the university and beyond the campus. In response, he set up the Office of Information Technology to provide for innovative and coordinated development in this area. He also spoke at national meetings and conferences that focused on the topic.

The most noteworthy of his contributions to advancing technology transfer has proved to be the establishment of the University Research Park. This resource rose out of Shain’s singular vision to develop an enterprise that accommodated the needs of private entrepreneurs at the same time it produced revenue to help underwrite research and related academic enterprises within the university. Today the University Research Park has grown to provide the home for 110 companies that employ 5,300 people. It has led to Madison becoming a recognized home for high-technology companies.

Another aspect of Irv Shain’s interests can be found outside of his customary scientific endeavors. He has a strong interest in the arts and humanities, particularly as it is reflected in the University’s music program. In 1979, he established the Arts Outreach program in the School of Music to send faculty and student performers out into the state. He also found a way to steer the University’s venerable Pro Arte Quartet through a period of financial crisis. More recently, Shain and his wife, Millie, have established a young artists program for piano students.

Irving and Millie Shain in 1986.

As he neared the end of his University service, Irv Shain decided he wanted to try applying his knowledge and experience in another environment---the private sector. He retired as chancellor in 1986 and accepted an offer from the Olin Corporation to become a corporate vice president and chief scientist. He served with distinction in that role until his retirement in 1992. He then returned to Madison to pursue his many interests and friendships. He stays active as a vice president and trustee of the University Research Park and a member of the College of Letters and Science board of visitors.