TO: Faculty and Staff Members FROM: Richard Stinchfield, Director, Planning and Policy Management DATE: February 25, 1985
Paul C. Kelso, 65, director of institutional research, died at University Hospitals in Iowa City on Saturday, February 23, after suffering a heart attack earlier in the day. A private family service will be held on Tuesday, February 26, for members of the immediate family and invited guests, with a private burial at the Fairview Cemetery in Cedar Falls. Friends may pay their respects and visit with the family from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. on Monday at the Dahl-Van Hove-Schoof Funeral Home in Cedar Falls, but the casket will be closed. All memorials should be made to the UNI Foundation.
Paul began his career at UNI in 1948 as an Extension Instructor in Elementary Mathematics. He then served as Director of Student Counseling Services from 1949 to 1978 and Coordinator of Student Research from 1978 to the present. Paul was president of the Iowa Personnel and Guidance Association and the Student Personnel Association for Teacher Education during the mid 1950s and received certificates and citations from both organizations. A member of Phi Delta Kappa, Paul has received that organization's Outstanding Educator Award. He was chairperson of the Student Research Committee and Student Retention Task Force as well as a member of the Data Processing, Records Management, and Admission and Retention Committees. He also served on numerous other committee assignments at UNI and was a member of several professional organizations and societies as well. A long-time member of the UNI Athletic Board, Paul was an avid sports fan with a great deal of interest in football and wrestling. Paul presided as chairman of the Civil Service Commission in Cedar Falls and, in 1981, received the Distinguished Service Award for his service as Civil Service Commissioner from 1966-1981. Paul is survived by his wife, Dorothy; two children, Karen Sue Kelso and Coleen Kelso Westin, both of Cedar Falls; three grandchildren, Neal Kelso Westin, Erik Richard Westin and Scott Paul Westin; and three brothers, John Kelso of New Cambria, Missouri, George Kelso, and Elmer Kelso, both of Arlington, Texas.
2/25/85 PAUL KELSO, UNI RESEARCH DIRECTOR, DIES AT 65 CEDAR FALLS --
Private funeral services for Paul C. Kelso 65, of 287 Clark Drive, will be at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, with private burial in Fairview Cemetery in Cedar Falls. Kelso died Saturday at University Hospitals in Iowa City of a heart attack. He was director of institutional research at the University of Northern Iowa. Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday at Dahl-Van Hove-Schoof Funeral Home in Cedar Falls. The funeral will be open only to members of the immediate family and invited guests.
Kelso first came to the University in 1948 as an extension instructor in elementary mathematics. From 1949-78, he was director of Student Counseling Services. In 1978, he became coordinator of student research, a position which was recently retitled director of institutional research. As director of institutional research, Kelso was responsible for the annual Student Profile reports and studies on student enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. His service at the University also included chairing the Student Retention Task Force and Student Research Committee. He was active in the UNI Faculty Club, serving as its current president. He often spent summers as a visiting lecturer at other schools. In 1965, he was a visiting lecturer in guidance at the University of Colorado -- Boulder; in 1960, he was a visiting lecturer in guidance at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and in the summer of 1961, he directed a career information workshop at Utah State University in Logan. He was a past president of the Student Personnel Association for Teacher Education and received that group's Certificate of Meritorious Service in 1971 and its Certificate of Recognition in 1959. He also was a past president of the Iowa Personnel and Guidance Association and received that organization's Presidential Scroll in 1971 and the Certificate of Professional Recognition in 1966.
Kelso was a charter member of the Iowa Educational Research and Evaluation Association. He also belonged to several other national and state professional organizations. Kelso was listed in Who's Who in American Education and Who's Who in the Midwest. He was a member of several visitation teams for the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, and, in 1976, he received the Thirty-Year Service Award from Phi Delta Kappa. In addition to his University roles, Kelso was active in the community. He served on the Cedar Falls Civil Service Commission from 1966 to 1981, including a stint as its chairman. In December 1981, he was presented the Distinguished Service Award from the city in recognition of his work as a civil service commissioner. In 1970, he served as a professional consultant to the Cedar Falls Drug Abuse Committee.
He served on the Board of Directors of the Black Hawk County Mental Health Center from 1951-54 and was a member of the advisory committee of the Black Hawk-Grundy County Mental Health Center from 1968-71. He was a charter member of the Cedar Falls Historical Society. Before joining the staff at Northern Iowa, Kelso spent two years at the University of Missouri -- Columbia, one as supervisor of student teachers and the other as a graduate assistant. From 1943-46 he served in the U.S. Army. Kelso was superintendent of the Steffenvillle, Missouri, schools from 1941 to 1943. Before that, he taught at LaPlata. Missouri, High School, and Brush Creek School in rural Ethel, Missouri, Kelso received his Ed.D. in guidance and school administration in 1948 and his master of education in school administration in 1946, both from the University of Missouri -- Columbia. His B.S. was from Northeast Missouri State University in 1939.
He is survived by his wife, Dorothy; two children, Karen Sue Kelso and Coleen Kelso Westin, both of Cedar Falls; three brothers, John of New Cambria, Missouri, and George and Elmer, both of Arlington, Texas; and three grandchildren. Memorials may be made to the UNI Foundation.