Reaner Shannon

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Reaner Shannon
A smiling young Black woman wearing an academic cap and gown
Reaner Gunnels (later Shannon), from the 1955 yearbook of Lincoln High School in Kansas City, MO.
Born
Reaner Gunnels

October 6, 1936
Solgohachia, Arkansas
DiedJuly 13, 2022 (aged 85)
Kansas City, Missouri
Occupation(s)Medical technologist, medical school dean

Reaner Gunnels Shannon (October 6, 1936 – July 13, 2022) was an American medical technologist, educator, and philanthropist. From 1998 to 2008, she was associate dean for minority affairs at the University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Medicine (UMKC).

Early life and education[edit]

Reaner Gunnels was born in Solgohachia, Arkansas, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, the daughter of Hosea D. Gunnels and Blanchia Hardy Gunnels. Her father was a maintenance worker at the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant.[1] She graduated from Lincoln High School in 1955.[2] She completed her doctoral studies in curriculum and instruction and healthcare administration at UMKC in 1983.[3][4] Her dissertation was titled "A comparison of attitudes of medical students at different levels of medical education." She was a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[5]

Career[edit]

Shannon was chief lab technologist at the UMKC's Truman Medical Center, Department of Hematology.[6] In 1990 she became the school's director of minority affairs, and in 1998 she was promoted to associate dean for minority affairs. She began the UMKC School of Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Council in 2001. She launched Saturday Academy, a free weekend STEM program for teens, and Summer Scholars, a two-week summer program.[3] She and her husband created the Dr. Reaner and Mr. Henry Shannon Lectureship in Minority Health in 2006.[7] She retired from UMKC in 2008; she received the Bill French Alumni Service Award from UMKC in 2008.[8]

Shannon was a member of the boards of directors of the Black Health Care Coalition and the Edgar Snow Foundation.[3][9] She was appointed to the advisory commission of Missouri's Minority and Underrepresented Environmental Literacy Program.[10]

Publications[edit]

Reaner collaborated with physicians, nurses, and other medical researchers on publications that appeared in American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,[11] Clinical Pediatrics,[6] and Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.[12] She also co-wrote a laboratory manual, Laboratory Evaluation of Hemostasis and Thrombosis (1983), with Marjorie S. Sirridge.[13]

Personal life[edit]

Gunnels married fellow medical technologist Henry Shannon in 1960. They had a daughter, Pamela. Both Shannons died in 2022; Reaner Shannon died in July 2022 at the age of 85,[3][9] and her widower died in December 2022, at the age of 89.[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Hosea D. Gunnels". The Kansas City Star. 1976-08-01. p. 40. Retrieved 2023-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Lincoln High School, The Lincolnian (1955 yearbook). via Ancestry
  3. ^ a b c d Martellaro, John. "Celebrating Reaner Shannon". UMKC. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  4. ^ "In Memoriam: Reaner Shannon, 1936-2022". The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. 2022-08-16. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  5. ^ "Dr. Reaner Shannon Obituary". Tribute Archive. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  6. ^ a b c Taylor, John; Shannon, Reaner; Kilbride, Howard W. (May 1989). "Use in Newborn Infants: A Controlled Trial". Clinical Pediatrics. 28 (5): 237–240. doi:10.1177/000992288902800509. ISSN 0009-9228.
  7. ^ "Dr. Reaner & Mr. Henry Shannon Endowed Lectureship in Minority Health". UMKC School of Medicine. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  8. ^ "University of Missouri Alumni Alliance gives awards for outstanding service". University of Missouri System. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  9. ^ a b Banks, J. M. (2022-07-24). "'When she spoke people listened'; UMKC leader, community activist Reaner Shannon dies". The Kansas City Star. pp. A21. Retrieved 2023-02-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Boards and Commissions". State of Missouri. Retrieved 2023-02-15.
  11. ^ a b Newman, Robert L.; Sirridge, Marjorie; Brinkman, Margaret; Shannon, Reaner (1976-05-01). "A study of blood coagulation parameters". American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. 125 (1): 108–114. doi:10.1016/0002-9378(76)90903-0. ISSN 0002-9378.
  12. ^ a b Terkonda, Raj; Ebbinghaus, Scot; Willoughby, T. Lee; Sirridge, Marjorie; Shannon, Reaner; Lichtin, Alan (July 1989). "Protein C Levels in Sickle Cell Diseases". Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 565 (1 Sickle Cell D): 430–431. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.1989.tb24213.x. ISSN 0077-8923.
  13. ^ a b Sirridge, Marjorie S. (1983). Laboratory evaluation of hemostasis and thrombosis. Reaner Shannon (3rd ed.). Philadelphia: Lea & Febiger. ISBN 0-8121-0878-7. OCLC 9017636.
  14. ^ "Henry Shannon Obituary (1933 - 2022)". Legacy Remembers. Retrieved 2023-02-15.