Karen R. Daubert, assistant vice chancellor for administration and strategic partnerships in University Marketing & Communications at Washington University in St. Louis, died Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024, after a short battle with cancer. She was 63.
Julie Hail Flory, vice chancellor for marketing and communications, called Daubert an “outstanding human,” one who was kind, intelligent and deeply committed to the values of fairness and justice.
“I know a lot of us in Karen’s orbit would often ask ourselves, ‘What would Karen do?’ when faced with a tough situation,” Flory said. “That’s because Karen was a great thinker who could cut through the clutter to find the right solution to any problem. And also because she cared very deeply about this place and its people. That care guided her in everything she did. I think I’ll always have a little Karen on my shoulder. I will miss her greatly as a friend, colleague and adviser.”
Daubert arrived at the university nearly 26 years ago as a part-time executive assistant to Fred Volkmann, vice chancellor emeritus for public affairs. She had just earned her PhD in Germanic languages and literatures from Princeton University. Barbara Rea, then director of the Assembly Series, said Daubert quickly rewarded her new colleagues for their leap of faith.
“Could an 18th-century poetry scholar do accounting? The answer turned out to be, ‘Yes — and more.’ Karen succeeded in every new role she was given because she was supremely intelligent and incredibly disciplined,” Rea recalled. “People also admired her for her strong sense of fairness and the respect she extended to everyone. It didn’t matter if she was talking to an intern or a vice chancellor.”
Or a factory worker in China.
As leader of WashU’s trademark licensing program, Daubert made sure every vendor — whether producing water bottles in the Philippines or sweatshirts in China — provided their workers a living wage and adhered to strict environmental standards. Daubert represented the university at the Fair Labor Association for most of the organization’s 25-year history, serving as a member of the board of directors for 15 years. She chaired FLA’s manufacturing committee, university caucus and best practices working group, and participated in factory inspections overseas to observe working conditions.
“Karen lived the values of the FLA,” said Rob Downey, of WashU Resource Management, who worked closely with Daubert on procurement activity of university resources and vendors. “When working with our licensed suppliers, Karen insisted our suppliers were aligned with the values of the Fair Labor Association, such as the protection of human rights and a commitment to environmental sustainability. We selected suppliers that are not just FLA members, but active participants. Karen’s work has rippled well beyond the university. In that sense, Karen has left an incredible contribution that extends well beyond WashU.”
Janelle Hizer, assistant director of administration and trademark licensing in University MarComm, believes the standards Daubert established will endure.
“Karen’s nickname at the Fair Labor Association was the Velvet Hammer,” Hizer said. “There were times people pushed back against her, saying things like, ‘Sustainability doesn’t matter.’ And she had such an eloquent way of saying, ‘No. This does matter. And here’s what we’re going to do.’ In typical Karen form, she was always kind and sweet, but she never strayed from doing what she knew was right.”
In addition to her professional roles, Daubert continued her work as an independent scholar. She published two essays on literary collaboration: “‘Free-lance modernists’ at work, together: The early textual dialogue of Robert Graves and Laura Riding” in “The Art of Collaboration: Essays on Robert Graves and his Contemporaries”; and “Reflexive Authorship in Bettina Brentano-von Arnim’s Die Günderode: Narrative Disunity, Hölderlin, and Günderrode” in “Gender, Collaboration, and Authorship in German Culture: Literary Joint Ventures (1750-1850).”
Outside of the office, Daubert loved gardening, listening to classical music, preparing vegetarian dishes and walking her dog, Ludo.
“She literally put on her calendar ‘swimming Fridays’ and ‘coffee date with KRD.’ I mean, how awesome was it that she made time to take herself out for coffee?” Hizer said. “The care she showed others, she also showed herself. That was another important lesson she shared.”
Daubert is survived by her husband, Bill Hubbard; her mother, E. Dorothea Daubert; and her sisters Marilyn McCulloch and Carol L. Daubert.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 3, at Bellefontaine Cemetery and Arboretum, 4947 W Florissant Ave. in St. Louis.