[Pols-announce] Robert D. Tomasek

[Haider-Markel, Donald Patrick]

The KU community is saddened to announce that Robert D. Tomasek, Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Kansas, died on April 7, 2019 at the age of 91 in Lawrence, Kansas.

Professor Tomasek was a scholar of Latin American politics, International Relations, and international law who was well liked by his students for clear well-organized lectures and his devotion towards ending international conflicts. At KU he was involved in the start of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies. He edited a 1966 book on Latin American Politics and contributed research articles on the politics of immigration, international organizations, and democracy and military unrest in Latin America.

Tomasek was born in 1928 in Chicago, IL. He married Ruth Waltershausen in 1953. The couple had three daughters, Mary, Sarah, and Katherine. His hobbies included long canoe trips in northern Minnesota and southern Canada, and backpacking trips in the western U.S. He was a devoted fisherman. After retirement Tomasek and Ruth volunteered at the LINK, with meals on wheels, and he served as an usher at Trinity Episcopal Church.

Tomasek received his BA in History from Grinnell College in 1950 and studied political science at the School of Advanced International Studies, John Hopkins University, from 1950 to 1951. In 1951 he was drafted into the Army for the Korean War. He received his MA in 1955 and PhD in 1957 in political science from the University of Michigan. Tomasek joined the KU faculty in Political Science in 1957 as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 1963 before being promoted to Professor in 1968. He served as a Visiting Associate Profess at the University of Indiana 1966-1967. In 1992 Tomasek retired from KU in 1992 was granted Emeritus Professor status.

A private graveside service will be held at Oak Hill Cemetery.


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