NW Tech names scholarship for longtime advocate

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March 27, 2006

Anonymous The Enid News and Eagle Mon Mar 27, 2006, 11:01 AM CST

For more than 30 years, Dan Shorter was not only a frequent visitor to Northwest Technology Center, but also an enthusiastic advocate for Northwest Tech.

Melinda Barton, a Northwest Technology Center spokeswoman, said anyone who attended Northwestern Oklahoma State University also would remember the longtime professor.

Northwest Technology Center and the Northwest Technology Center Foundation recently honored the late Dan Shorter’s service to the technology center and its students.

Shorter’s wife, Margery, attended a ceremony in her late husband’s honor. Freelin Roberts, Northwest Technology Center’s superintendent, said through the contributions of many friends, a scholarship had been endowed in Shorter’s name. The scholarship will be given annually beginning in the fall of 2006 and will be called the Dr. Dan Shorter Memorial Scholarship.

Highlights of the presentation included the presentation of a framed photograph of Shorter. Margery Shorter presented Roberts with a check to be added to the fund. Twelve of those who were donors to the fund were present for the presentation.

Shorter became a member of the Northwest Technology Center Board of Education in 1975. He was elected to a seventh consecutive term in February 2005. He almost always gave the invocation at board meetings and his sincere words and caring wisdom always created a courteous and warm atmosphere, said Freelin Roberts, Northwest Tech superintendent.

“Dr. Shorter was not only a great board member, but also a great friend,” Roberts said. “He made a difference in our school by providing continuity on our board of education. He will be missed.”

In addition to being a member of the tech center’s board, Shorter was a vital part of the Northwest Technology Center Foundation Board of Trustees and a charter member of the foundation.

He always worked on the silent auction fund-raiser, held each year in conjunction with the foundation’s golf tournament. As recently as June, he was collecting items from numerous friends and former students to help out with the foundation’s fundraising efforts.

“Dr. Shorter was a great educator,” said Keith Ballard, executive director of the Oklahoma State School Board Association. “He was known far and wide as a great teacher and he extended his love of education into his long career in board service. Shorter made an enormous impact and will long be remembered. He was also very interesting and fun to talk to as his life cast a huge net and made a real impact on people.”

Shorter was a teacher who understood that not all students are college bound and that even some of those who are benefit from a technical education in addition to academics. He began his teaching career in Anthony, Kan., where he taught math and initiated the tennis program. Shorter taught science courses at Northwestern Oklahoma State University, his alma mater, for nearly 30 years, retiring in 1987. He also served as the director of Northwest Family Services and on numerous boards in the Alva area including Share Medical Center, the Alva Kiwanis Club, Woods County Retired Educators, First United Methodist Church, the Cherokee Strip Museum and the Alva Mural Society. He was also a member of the American Legion and the Masons.

Shorter graduated from Northwestern State College in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree and went on to receive his masters of science from Oklahoma State University in 1960 and his doctorate in philosophy from OSU in 1966. He served proudly in the United States Navy during World War II.

Memorial donations can be made to the Dr. Dan Shorter Scholarship Fund, Northwest Technology Center Foundation, c/o Cindy Gottsch, 654 Comanche Circle, Alva, OK 73717. Fore more information about the Northwest Technology Center Foundation go to www.nwtechonline.com.

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