Carol was born in Meade, Kansas on January 6, 1934. She earned her B.A. at the University of Kansas, her M.A. at Wichita State University, and her Ph.D. in Higher Education at the University of Oklahoma. Carol was always excited about opportunities to promote positive change and social justice and address issues of inequality and oppression in her community and worldwide. She participated in the United Nations Conference on Women in Mexico City, Nairobi, and Beijing. Prior to the Beijing conference in 1995, she traveled on the “Peace Train” with 232 women from 45 countries meeting with women’s groups and parliaments in countries from Finland to China. Carol also participated in International Interdisciplinary Congresses on Women in Ireland, Costa Rica, and Australia; conducted research at the International Women’s Archives in Amsterdam; and served with Women’s Studies delegations in Minsk, Moscow, and St. Petersburg.
Locally, Carol’s volunteer board service included the Women’s Equality Coalition, Women’s Alcohol Services, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, YWCA, Alzheimer’s Association, Lifeline, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention and the Wichita Library Board.
"Remembering Carol Konek," The Sunflower, July 9, 2019