Delbert Shankel was born August 4, 1927 in Plainview, Nebraska. He earned his B.A. from Walla Walla College in 1950 and his Ph.D. from the University of Texas in 1959. After receiving his Ph.D., Shankel left for the University of Kansas for an assistant professorship in microbiology.

At KU, Shankel served in many different roles. From 1959 to 1964 he was an assistant professor, achieving promotion to associate professor in 1964. From 1964 to 1965, he served as Acting Chairman of the Department of Microbiology, and from 1966-1970 he served as the Assistant Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. In 1973 he was named Acting Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

On January 23, 1974, Shankel was promoted to the position of Executive Vice Chancellor. When Chancellor Archie Dykes left 6 years later, Shankel filled in as Acting Chancellor. One of Shankel's biggest accomplishments during his one year tenure was defusing the free speech protests. Under his direction, the University's free speech policy was written. Shankel was also a supporter of women's athletics while in his adminstrative roles, including while serving briefly as Acting Athletics Director and while serving as Faculty Athletics Representative to the Big 8 Conference and the NCAA.

In 1981, Shankel went on sabbatical and then returned to teaching. He would later fill the role of acting chancellor again, between 1994 and 1995. He is officially known as KU's 15th Chancellor.

Delbert M. Shankel retired from KU in 1996 with emeritus status. He was married to Carol, with whom he had two daughters, Jill and Kelley. Shankel died on July 12, 2018 in Lawrence, Kansas.