Carol J. Nemitz, Dean Nemitz,as she was known to legions of Iowa Wesleyan University students, was born in Pulaski, Iowa, on February 25, 1934. After graduating from high school in 1951, she enrolled at Iowa Wesleyan. There, she became a member of the Alpha Alpha Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha chapter and she was involved in many student activities including athletics, music, drama and literary pursuits.
She left Iowa Wesleyan after her sophomore year because her father died. She became an elementary school teacher in the Iowa school systems of Wapello, Keystone, and Corydon.
The Zeta Tau Alphas held the third annual Iowa State Day on April 30, 1955, and she was in attendance as an alumna. Nemitz graduated from Iowa Wesleyan in 1956.
After earning a master’s degree at the University of Northern Iowa, she worked there for several years as a residence hall director. In 1962, she was serving as an officer the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Alumnae Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha. When she was hired by Iowa Wesleyan in 1963, the alumnae chapter gave her a send off.
Courier, July 11, 1963
Between the fall of 1963 until her retirement nearly 50 years later in August 2013, she was an integral part of the campus. Among the jobs and titles she had were counselor and Dean of Students. She served as toastmistress at the 1966 Zeta Tau Alpha Iowa State Day.
When she became Vice President of Student Affairs in 1970, she was Iowa Wesleyan’s first female vice president. In 2002, Nemitz even served as Iowa Wesleyan’s Interim President. Her ability to remember names and dates was exceptional. Given her history with the campus and her excellent memory, she was a font of information.
Iowa Wesleyan, her alma mater, appreciated and loved her. Among the honors she received were an Alumni Service Award, a Distinguished Served Award, and an honorary doctorate. A new residence hall, Nemitz Suites, named for her in 2006, as was an award for outstanding IWU staff members.
Carol Nemitz received a Distinguished Service Award from Iowa Wesleyan in 2014.
Nemitz was active in professional organizations and was the first woman to be awarded the Iowa Student Personnel Association Distinguished Service Award. Among her civic affiliations were Rotary, AAUW and Chapter DD of TTT. In addition, she was an active member of Mount Pleasant’s First United Methodist Church.
The P.E.O. Sisterhood was founded at Iowa Wesleyan on January 21, 1869. She was a 50+ year member of Chapter Original A and served as the chapter’s president. Nemitz also served as Historian of International Chapter. She led tours of the Memory Room in Old Main and was a member of the Sesquicentennial Committee for the festivities in 2019.
She died on February 3, 2024, in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, at the age of 89.
I consider myself lucky for having met her several times. Her dry sense of humor always brought me a smile. And she will be missed by oh so many Iowa Wesleyan grads, Mount Pleasant citizens and members of the P.E.O. Sisterhood.
