Sol Shulman

BOT Approves Naming the Dr. Sol Shulman Atrium

Illinois State University’s Board of Trustees today approved the naming of the Dr. Sol Shulman Atrium in the Science Laboratory Building in recognition of his contribution and commitment to the University.

Shulman, an emeritus chemistry professor and former Chemistry department chairperson, was born and raised in the Soviet Union.  As a Russian Partisan fighting the Nazis, he was awarded the Partisan Warfare Medal for heroism.

After immigrating to the United States, he earned a Ph.D. in chemistry at the University of Wisconsin and came to Illinois State as chair of Chemistry in 1969.  He retired in 1992.

After retirement, Shulman worked as a consultant, often putting in 60-hour weeks, in the design and construction of the award-winning Science Laboratory building.  He donated his fee to the Department of Chemistry.  Shulman designed and developed a see-through fume hood for the building, again free of charge, but with the caveat that the company refer to the design as the “ISU Fume Hood.” 

After one of Shulman’s students established the Sol Shulman Scholarship Fund, Schulman made a large contribution to help build the endowment, which currently has close to $200,000.