In Memoriam: Carol Wolfe Konek, 1934-2019

Carol Wolfe Konek, co-founder of the women’s studies department at Wichita State University in Kansas, passed away on June 27, 2019. She was 85 years old.

Throughout Dr. Konek’s 35-year career at Wichita State University, she taught courses on English composition and global women’s issues. With a group of her colleagues from the English department, in 1972 she helped to establish the women’s studies department at the university. She served as associate dean of the Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for 19 years and was an associate professor of women’s studies until her retirement in 2005.

Dr. Konek was one of the few Americans granted visas to participate in the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995. She also participated in the International Congresses on Women in Ireland, Costa Rica, and Australia, and conducted research at the International Women’s Archives in Amsterdam. Additionally, she served on the board of the Alzheimer’s Association, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Lifeline, Wichita Airport Authority, Wichita Library Board, Women’s Equality Coalition, Women’s Alcohol Services, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, and the YWCA. She was also the author of numerous books, including a memoir called Daddyboy (Graywolf Press, 1991), which was about her father’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Konek was a graduate of the University of Kansas. She held a master’s degree from Wichita State University and a doctorate in higher education from the University of Oklahoma.