(WSIL) -- The very first President of Shawnee Community College has died.Â
Dr. Loren Klaus, 93, died at his daughter's home in Texas on Wednesday.Â
Dr. Klaus was born in Carlinville, Illinois and later lives in Charleston, Illinois. He began his career in education as a high school teacher and coach.Â
The Board of Trustees of the newly created, but not yet built, Shawnee Junior College (now Shawnee Community College or SCC) in Ullin, Illinois, appointed Dr. Klaus as its first President in May 1968.Â
Dr. Klaus remained until late 1987, just shy of 20 years as President, a standing record in Illinois for community college presidents.Â
He oversaw the temporary campus facility design and construction, hiring administrators and instructors, course offerings, and, in his sixth year as President, the design and eventual construction of the permanent SCC facility.Â
Dr. Klaus' family said in a statement, "One of his favorite memories was in the summer of 1968 when Dr. Delyte Morris, then Chancellor of ¾ÅÓÎÌåÓý Illinois University, stopped in unannounced at the temporary SCC administration office, an old house in Karnak, Illinois, to say hello and to tell him he would help him in any way to get the brand-new college up and running."
They went on to say, "The students were always his favorite part of work at SCC; he took time to talk to them in the hallways and the cafeteria and was so proud of their accomplishments and success."
Dr. Klaus was included in SCC’s 50th Anniversary celebration on campus in 2017.
Upon his retirement from SCC, Loren and his wife moved from their home in Metropolis, Illinois, to Glen Carbon, Illinois.
A memorial service and burial at Prairie Lawns Memorial Gardens in Carlinville, Illinois, will be held at a later time.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to UM Action at The Institute on Religion and Democracy, 1023 15th Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005-2601.
Donations can be made online at:Â
