Jack Sturgell

Dec. 5, 2005--Jack Sherman Sturgell, 84, of Cokesbury Village in Hockessin, died Dec. 5.

From 1963-90, Mr. Sturgell served the University of Delaware in a variety of capacities, including director of the Perkins Student Center (1963-83), producer of its Bacchus Theatre musicals and plays, associate dean of students and director of cultural programs for student life.

A founding member of the Delaware Friends of the Performing Arts, he is remembered for the diverse array of concerts, plays, dance groups and world-class performers he brought to the UD campus.

The Jack Sturgell Collection, in Special Collections of the University of Delaware Library, includes material dating from 1900-88, including sheet music; playbills from musical and dramatic production in the Newark and Wilmington area, as well as New York and Philadelphia; and production notes, photographs, publicity and reviews related to performances in the Bacchus Theatre at the Perkins Student Center.

Born in Greenup, Ky., he served in the U.S. Navy and then earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of North Carolina, and he was a doctoral candidate at the University of Virginia.

Before coming to Delaware, he served on the administrative staffs of the College of William and Mary and Sweet Briar College.

In 1980, Mr. Sturgell received the Butts-Whiting Award, highest citation of the Association of College Unions International for excellence in programs and administration. The award honored him as "a man of refinement and dedication, an individual with flair, a sense of style and compelling good taste."

He was a member of the Newark, Del., Public Library Board and the Players' Club of New York City.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts to the Cokesbury Village Library Fund may be sent to Cokesbury Village, 726 Loveville Rd., Hockessin, DE 19707.