Skeens
UT President Lloyd Jacobs said Skeens’ influence on the University, and on students specifically, could not be overstated.
“For 20 years Alice Skeens served in the dean’s office in the College of Arts and Sciences representing student affairs,” Jacobs said. “But her advocacy for students spanned the whole of her career at The University of Toledo and the lives of countless UT students and graduates who are better off for having known her.”
In a letter to the campus community, Dr. William McMillen, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, praised Skeens’ nearly five decades of service to the University.
“I’ve not known Dr. Skeens for as long as many of you have,” McMillen wrote, “but since arriving at the newly merged University of Toledo in 2006, I have valued her wisdom, her institutional memory and her friendship.”
Skeens earned a bachelor’s degree in English and social sciences from Concord College in 1956, a master’s degree in English, counseling and social sciences in 1960, and a doctor of education degree in guidance and counseling from UT in 1972.
In his letter, McMillen noted that Skeens didn’t believe a standing committee existed that she hadn’t served on, and many search committees and ad hoc councils also sought her wisdom.
Skeens served as grand marshal for faculty during commencement ceremonies and as faculty representative to the NCAA. She twice served as chair of the Faculty Senate and assisted with University accreditation visits. From 1987 to 1997, Skeens served as assistant to the president.
McMillen said that funeral and UT memorial arrangements will be announced on myUT.utoledo.edu as they become available.
“As we begin to map out the path ahead for the College of Languages, Literature and Social Sciences and the University in the next days and weeks,” McMillen wrote, “it is my hope that we can do so with the intellect, wisdom and mirth of Alice Skeens.”
