Dr. Alvin Sarachek

1927 - 2018

Sarachek, Dr. Alvin Died Friday, December 7, 2018 in Wichita Kansas. Private service. Born on July 29, 1927 to Harry and Bertha (Bea) Balter Sarachek in Pittsburg, PA, he lived in New York City and Chicago until the family settled in Kansas City, Missouri where he attended Benton Grade School, Central High School and the University of Kansas City, which, at that time was a municipal school. He was listening to the radio broadcast of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra program when it was announced that Pearl Harbor was attacked. The school board declared that those students eligible to graduate early from high school be allowed to do so in order to get at least a year of college before turning 18 and joining the military. His service in the US Navy was cut short before completing boot camp because of the dropping of the atomic bombs. It took two weeks for him to arrive back in Kansas City due to the heavy traffic of troops returning on the trains. Upon his arrival, he discovered a draft notice. It seems that his term of service was a few days short to be no longer draft eligible. But he was able to complete a B.A. (with distinction) in Biology in 1948 and a M.A. in microbiology in 1950, both from the University of Kansas City, and for the next half decade, the draft board would call him only to cancel the orders. Finally while he was working as a Research Associate in Microbial Genetics at the Biological Research Laboratory, Southern Illinois University, he was drafted into the US Army. Before completing basic training, his mentor, Carl Lindegren at USI arranged for his transfer to the Army Medical Research Laboratory, Fort Knox, Kentucky where he worked as a Research Microbiologist until being discharged in 1955. Through a series of amusing events as he was on his way to California to pursue a doctorate, he arrived at what is now Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas and completed the requirements for the PhD in a little over a year under the direction of Dr. Val Woodward. Upon completion of a post doctorate in microbial biochemistry at the Institute of Microbiology, Rutgers University in 1958, he and Val Woodward accepted the invitation from then Vice President of Academic Affairs Emory K. Lindquist and President Harry Corbin to come to the University of Wichita to create a new, modern department of Biology. Upon the departure of Woodward after a year, Alvin was appointed Head of the department and was promoted to full professor in 1961. He resigned the Chairmanship of the department after he was appointed the Wichita State Trustee's Distinguished Professor of Natural Sciences. Included in his service to WSU was the design and justification for the first building to be built on the campus after entry to the state system, the Life Sciences Building. Al served on many university and college committees but most notably, along with A. C. Genova, Philosophy, drafted the first comprehensive formal guidelines for tenure and promotion procedures for Fairmount College. These subsequently served as the procedural model adopted by the University. He also was responsible for procuring the funds and designing the original concept of the Watkins Professorship in 1978, along with Phil Bowman and Roberta Watkins. Throughout his academic career, Dr. Sarachek served continuously in a variety of capacities with various private and governmental agencies concerned with science education and research. Among those activities were appointments as: guest program manager for biochemical genetics with the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC; 1965-66) and for Student Oriented Programs in the Science Education Directorate, at the National Science Foundation (NSF; 1977-78); member of the AEC's National Oversight Committee for programs in food irradiation (1967-l972) and chairman of the NSF's External Peer Oversight Committee for NATO postdoctoral fellowship programs in science and engineering (1987-90); National Research Council-Hungarian Academy of Sciences exchange scientist(1986, 1988); American Society for Microbiology Visiting Professor and consultant to minority institutions (1987-92), and member or chair of some 60 site-visiting teams for evaluation of science programs at colleges, universities and research institutes throughout the country. In addition to developing and teaching a number of courses and seminars, he had an active research program with funding for 26 grants from 1959 onward and published 78 peer-reviewed papers on that research. He also presented 20 invited seminars and lectures nationally and internationally. He retired in 1992. During his retirement, he sought to provide funding for a number of entities which held his values for advancing knowledge in the sciences, history and the arts. Notable among these is the establishment of the Alvin and RosaLee Sarachek Predoctoral Honors Fellowship and Travel Awards in Molecular Biology at Kansas State University in 2002 and the RosaLee& Alvin Sarachek Award for Scholarly Excellence in Natural Sciences for the top graduating senior in Fairmount College, Wichita State University in 2013. The Woodland Bird Garden at Botanica was dedicated to the parents of Alvin and RosaLee in 2008. He was an emeritus member of the original founding Advisory Board for the Hereditary Neurological Disease Centre in Wichita, with research, service and outreach to a number of surrounding states in our region. He was preceded in death by his parents and brother, Bernard (Buddy) Sarachek and is survived by his beloved wife of 41 years, RosaLee Ireland Sarachek; her sister, Mary Ann Ireland and her husband, Mike Hafer and Buddy's widow, Marcia Sarachek of Leewood, Ks. In lieu of flowers, a memorial has been established with the Hereditary Neurological Disease Centre, 9300 E 29th St N, #350, Wichita, KS 67226. To sign a guest book or leave a condolence for the family, go to www.cochranmortuary.com