Remembrance Service Set for William Ihlanfeldt

EVANSTON, Ill. --- A remembrance for the late William Ihlanfeldt, former vice president of institutional relations and dean of admission and financial aid at Northwestern University, will be held May 20 on the Evanston campus.

The event will be held at 5:30 p.m. in Hardin Hall in Rebecca Crown Center. A reception will follow at 6:30 p.m.

Mr. Ihlanfeldt, 71, died March 21 in Scottsdale, Ariz. During his 33-year tenure at Northwestern, he revamped the University's student admission process and helped spur redevelopment in downtown Evanston.

Earlier in his career at Northwestern, first as director of undergraduate admission and financial aid and then as dean of admission and financial aid, he radically changed the University's approach to student recruitment and admissions. Mr. Ihlanfeldt pushed for need-blind admission, which separates students' academic achievement from their ability to pay.

In the late 1960s he encouraged the University to increase the number of minority students at Northwestern and actively recruited students from high schools near the Chicago housing projects.

Mr. Ihlanfeldt also was appointed to head the Office of Institutional Relations (now Government Relations) in 1977 and led the department as a vice president from 1978 to 1997.

In the late 1980s he was instrumental in development of the Northwestern University/Evanston Research Park, a 22-acre, $400 million project created to help transfer the University's technology research to the marketplace. The joint venture with the City of Evanston included a mixed-use development with residential and retail uses.

A native of Belleville, Ill., Mr. Ihlanfeldt received a bachelor's degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and master's and PhD degrees in counseling and educational psychology from Northwestern.

He is survived by his wife, Jeannine; three children who attended Northwestern, son Troy and daughters Kimberly and Holly; a brother, Keith; and two grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his memory to the Evans Scholars Foundation, 1 Briar Road, Golf, Ill. 60029.