1. Shelley Nien-chun Chou, the 30th President of the Neurosurgical Society of America, was clearly a man of remarkable achievements.
He was born In 1924 in a small village in China, into a family which placed great emphasis on education.  At a time when 95% of the people in his region of China were illiterate, his father named after the poet Percy Bysshe Shelley. With his father's premature death, Shelley began his formal education, but unfortunately the Japanese invasion during World War II curtailed its completion.  Fortuitously, with his acquired fluency in English, Shelley was befriended by a variety of western contacts, who influenced his decision after the war to emigrate to the U.S.  He obtained his MD at the University of Utah.  Residency at the University of Minnesota under Bill Peyton followed and then a tour at the N.I.H. working in neurophysiology.  In 1960, Shelley returned to the Minnesota faculty and joined Lyle French.  Over the following years he moved up the academic ladder to ultimately be selected as Chairman of Neurosurgery in 1974.

2. Shelley's contributions to Neurosurgery were prolific, including pioneering research in brain scanning, along with major clinical contributions in cerebrovascular and spinal surgery.  He was President of numerous neurosurgical organizations.  Perhaps Shelley's greatest contribution was his deep interest in graduate neurosurgical education, particularly involving the American Board of Neurological Surgery and Residency Review Committee, where his influence will continue to be felt for many years to come.  The esteem with which he was held by his colleagues at Minnesota and the wide respect for his leadership ability became obvious when, after the resignations of the Dean of the Medical School and of the Vice President for Health Sciences, Dr. Chou became the unanimous choice of the Clinical and Basic Science faculties to become the Interim Dean of the Medical School and Vice President for Medical Affairs. 

3. But it is the little things we remember that really tell the story of the man:
Shelley offering me my first job over orange sherbet at Nino’s restaurant in Pittsburgh when he was visiting professor – no contract, no formal letter – just an understanding and handshake that I knew meant he would honor his word.
Shelley on rounds with the residents and medical students imjitating the movement of the brainstem at the time of severe craniocerebral trauma.
The annual Christmas dinner at his home with chopsticks so highly polished that no one but the Chous could actually eat with them.
Giving me a ride to work when my car had broken down and telling me I really didn’t have to come to work so early in the morning.
Testing his own extraocular movements in the ambulance on the way to the hospital after being in an automobile accident.
Coming out of retirement to assume the position as interim Dean when his institution really needed him and then nearly being shot by a deranged former graduate student.
Patient after patient professing their profound respect for his careful, scientific and compassionate care of them during their illness.

4. Dr. Chou’s legacy is profound and has affected many
Dr. Chou’s legacy is profound and has affected many. In true Chou style, however, he and Jolene created several lasting memorials.
Each year the Shelley and Jolene Chou Nursing Award is given to a neurosurgical nurse at the University of Minnesota Medical Center who exemplifies the highest traditions of nursing care.
They created the Zhou Zi Zhen award honoring his mother whose influence in requiring excellence in education and personal responsibility he regarded as critical to his own success in life. This award is given to a resident in the Neurosurgery Training Program at Minnesota who exemplifies the highest standards of patient care, continual learning and academic achievement. At his instruction, it is given only when the faculty identify a resident who truly merits this distinction. After several years without such a candidate, the award was given this year to chief resident Adam O. Hebb.
The annual Shelley Chou lecture recognizes the lifetime achievement of a major figure in neurosurgery. Past Chou lecturers include many members of this Society including John Van Gilder, Buzz Hoff, Don Long, Al Rhoton, and Charlie Wilson.
I am pleased to announce that the latest recognition of the Chou’s contribution to neurosurgery, the Shelley and Jolene Chou Chair in Neurosurgery, is fully funded and will be activated in the coming academic year.
Shelley returned to his well earned retirement, living in Arizona, after helping to stabilize the Medical School. As too often happens, his well deserved retirement was cut short by cancer. Dr Chou passed away in July of 2001 but his legacy will live on in the honorable, scientific and compassionate care given to future patients by generations of neurosurgeons, medical students and the members of this society who came under his influence.