AWC remembers longtime support of higher education Steve Shadle
October 6, 2020Contact: Mandy Heil
Director of Communications and Marketing
Arizona Western College
Mandy.Heil@azwestern.edu
(928) 314-9594
AWC remembers longtime supporter of higher education Steve Shadle Yuma, AZ (October 5, 2020) – The Arizona Western College community is grieved by the loss of former District Governing Board member Steve Shadle. He passed away on August 11, at the age of 84. Mr. Shadle’s consistent work and contributions through the decades reached almost all areas of the college. He was involved with AWC before its first classes were even held through his firm’s work with Senator Harold Giss to promote the formation of the college in early 1963. In the late 1960’s, Mr. Shadle was an adjunct professor teaching night classes in business law. Over the years, he worked with many of his legal clients to establish funds for major college projects, including the Margaret Page Amphitheater and the Ennis Rice Endowment. As a couple, he and his wife Bobbie established the Shadle/Edgecombe Endowment Fund that recognizes an outstanding faculty member each year with a cash award. While serving on the AWC District Governing Board in 2009, Mr. Shadle shared his vision for a solar installation at the college, and worked closely with staff during the development of a five megawatt installation on campus. He also served on the AWC Foundation Board of Directors and offered free legal services for anyone who wished to leave a bequest to the AWC Foundation, increasing donations by millions of dollars. Mr. Shadle was also a longtime supporter of both KAWC Public Radio and the Matador Athletic Association. Through his involvement as a member of the Caballeros de Yuma, Shadle helped launch the original El Toro Bowl in Yuma to provide post-season football and to promote the city.
His daughter, Amy Gill, shares, “There were days that he went to work at five in the morning, didn’t feel well, but would leave after dinner to go watch a game. He was a true fan.” He was inducted into the AWC Hall of Fame in 2015 for his lifetime of dedication to higher education. He and his wife are also the namesakes of the Steve and Bobbie Shadle Library and Learning Resources Complex, which was dedicated to them in 2011 and is located on the AWC Yuma Campus.
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