Professor emeritus Kenneth Starck, age 88, died Jan. 8, 2023 in Iowa City, Iowa, with his family at his side.

Ken was born Sept. 5, 1934, in Loveland, Colo., to Theodore and Emma (Krening) Starck. His father was a blacksmith and his mother had her hands full with Ken and his five younger brothers.

After graduating from Windsor High School, Ken moved to Iowa and earned a BA in English from Wartburg College followed by an MA in journalism from the University of Missouri and a Ph.D. in mass communication from Southern Illinois University.

Ken worked as a reporter for the Decatur, Ill., Review and the Memphis, Tenn., Commercial Appeal and as a free-lance correspondent in Finland and China. From 1997-2004 he was news ombudsman for the Cedar Rapids Gazette. Among his favorite articles were an interview with Elvis Presley playing touch football with a Memphis high school team and an incident from 1963 when he witnessed a white policeman beat up a young Black man in Memphis.

Following his career as a newspaperman, Ken moved to academia, starting at the University of South Carolina in 1971 before landing at the University of Iowa in 1974. At the university, he taught international communications for three decades, and served as director of the School of Journalism for 17 years, helping the school regain national accreditation. He delighted in challenging budding journalists to be critical, thoughtful and fair reporters.

His international interests opened up opportunities for adventures. From 1966-67, he taught at the University of Tampere, Finland, where he met his future wife, Raija. He was awarded two Fulbright professorships, from 1986-87 at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, and from 1994-95 at the University of Bucharest in Romania. Following his retirement from the University of Iowa, he was the Dean of Zayed University College of Communication and Media Sciences in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, U.A.E., from 2002-09.

Ken and Raija traveled extensively, often tied to work opportunities, as Ken lectured in Japan, Iceland, Ukraine, Canada, Great Britain, Hong Kong, South Korea, Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Germany. The couple also traveled in Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, India, Indonesia, Australia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, among other destinations.

In addition to his professional writing as a reporter and academic, he enjoyed writing about his life and travels. He kept detailed diaries, and published a book about his time in China, The Dragon’s Pupils: A China Odyssey, in addition to a memoir Elvis, Dracula and Other Stories of a Lifetime. He had a lifelong love of learning, keeping busy after retirement with writing and photography projects, creating photo books for family members, participating in programs sponsored by the Iowa City’s Public Library and Senior Center, and the University of Iowa Retirees’ Association. He delighted in a clever turn of phrase and loved a good palindrome.

Ken’s family meant everything to him. He is survived and will be greatly missed by his wife of more than 55 years, Raija, daughter, Christa (Jim Weiker), two sons from a previous marriage, Timothy and Thomas, four grandchildren, three brothers, Theodore Starck Jr. (Kathy), Edward (JoAnn) and Robert (Claudene) and many nieces and nephews. In addition to his parents, two brothers preceded him in death: Howard (Lore), in 2015 and William (Nancy), in 2021.

In keeping with Ken’s wishes, cremation has been accorded and services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Iowa Public Radio, Iowa Public Television or The University of Iowa School of Journalism.

https://journalism.uiowa.edu/news/2023/03/tribute-ken-starck-0