Marilyn Stokstad, the Judith Harris Murphy Distinguished Professor Emerita of Art History at the University of Kansas, died on March 4. She was 87 years old.
Professor Stokstad was the author or co-author of several textbooks including Art History (Pearson, 2013), now in its fifth edition, and Medieval Art (Westview Press, 2004). As a result, her scholarship introduced thousands of college students to the study of art history.
A native of Lansing, Michigan, Professor Stokstad was a graduate of Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota. After spending a year as a Fulbright Fellow at the University of Oslo in Norway, she returned to the United States to earn a master degree from Michigan State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Stokstad joined the faculty at the University of Kansas in 1958. From 1961 to 1968, she was the director of the what is now the Spencer Museum of Art on the campus of the university. Professor Stokstad served as associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences from 1972 to 1976. During her long career, Dr. Stokstad was president of the College Art Association and the International Center of Medieval Art. She retired from teaching in 2002.