Former students, colleagues, family, and friends are invited to attend a Celebration of Life for Dr. L. Dale Van Vleck, an emeritus professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, who passed away on December 23, 2025, in Dallas, Texas, after a brief illness. The Celebration of Life will be held at 1:30 p.m., on Saturday, May 16, 2026, in the Great Plains Room in Nebraska's East Campus Union. The family has asked attendees to please RSVP if they plan to attend.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Dee and Dale Van Vleck Excellence in Animal Genetics Fund c/o The University of Nebraska Foundation through the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Animal Science, or to a favorite wildlife or nature conservancy organization. The Excellence in Animal Genetics Fund was established by Dale prior to his passing to provide funding to support continued training of students in animal breeding and genetics. A memory book is also available online for friends to share photos, stories, and memories of Dr. Van Vleck.
Dale was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 55 years, Dolores "Dee" (O'Connor) Van Vleck; his brother, Fred Van Vleck; and his sister, Betty Ann (Van Vleck) Ray. He is survived by his daughter, Elizabeth; his son, John; and his granddaughter, Audrey, as well as his cousin, Elayne, and many nieces, nephews, and a global community of former students and colleagues.
Born on the family farm in Clearwater, Nebraska, in 1933, Dale went on to earn both his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Nebraska in 1954 and 1955, respectively. Following service in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps, he earned his Ph.D., under Dr. Charles Henderson at Cornell University, in 1960. He continued there, first as a research geneticist before transitioning to a tenure-track position and being promoted to full professor in 1973.
After retiring and transitioning to emeritus faculty at Cornell in 1988, he became a research geneticist with the USDA Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska, replacing the recently retired Dr. Gordon Dickerson. The position included an appointment as a professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Dr. Ronnie Green, who would later serve as the Vice Chancellor of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) and Chancellor of Nebraska's Lincoln Campus, was the last Ph.D. student of Dr. Dickerson. "When the recruitment of his successor played out in 1987, I remember so well the excitement in the air because Dr. Dale Van Vleck, another legend in the field from his long and prolific career at Cornell, became the priority candidate. It was the case of one giant’s shoes being filled by another and equal giant," recounted Green. "When Dale and Dee came to Lincoln to interview, I was assigned the responsibility by Gordon of hosting Mrs. Van Vleck. I like to think that I had a small hand in the successful marketing effort to persuade Dale to come back to his native Nebraska and University through “selling” Dee."
From the time he returned to Nebraska until well after his official retirement in 2007, he would continue to go to the office daily, investigating new ideas related to animal breeding and genetics, and always keeping a stockpile of Little Debbie snack cakes nearby.
Teaching and training students was always a focus of his work. Dale formally advised or mentored 52 Ph.D. and 39 M.S. students, and 77 research associates. Over half of these mentees came from one of over 30 countries outside of the U.S. His memory was unmatched – he could recall not only details about scientific studies, but of each of his students' interests, the grade they earned in the courses he taught, and their career paths. He continued correspondence with many long after their training was complete.
Dr. Blaine Johnson, a former Nebraska faculty member with a focus in plant breeding and genetics, served on the graduate committee of many of Dr. Van Vleck's students, a task that was reciprocated by Dr. Van Vleck for Johnson's students as well. "After his full retirement, I would often visit Dale at his home and would lose track of time as we reflected on our careers," said Johnson. "We'd discuss courses we'd taught, students that we'd shared, and even discussions about specific research papers. He always remembered the details much better than I did."
Dr. Van Vleck’s body of work was remarkable, comprising 14 books, 11 book chapters, more than 380 peer-reviewed publications, over 100 proceedings and abstracts, and a similar number of extension/outreach publications. His "Green Book," a compilation of summary material designed to serve as a textbook for an upper-class undergraduate and graduate student course in animal breeding, was used by hundreds of students during his time at Cornell and Nebraska. The goal of the book was to teach students; reflecting that goal it was priced to cover the cost of printing and shipping.
"The 'Green Book' is truly the Bible of genetic selection methodology and continues his legacy of training young scientists," said Keith Boldman, a former undergraduate student at Cornell that later became Dr. Van Vleck's first USDA post-doc. "When I was a graduate student at UC Davis and later at Iowa State, we would order boxes of them," recalled Boldman. "The current price of a used CRC published copy on Amazon is $2,999.99, plus $3.99 shipping. It is a “Green Book” in more ways than one!"
Although he was never one to brag, the list of awards Dr. Van Vleck earned is long, including recognition as a Fellow of the American Society of Animal Science (1999), Beef Improvement Federation Pioneer Award (2002), the ASAS Morrison Award (2005), and induction into the ARS Science Hall of Fame (2010).
"He was rightly awarded all of the possible accolades and honors possible as a tribute to his impact through his science," said Green, "His real pride and joy was his students and their many accomplishments – which of course continue around the world today."
