T. Lee Streiff '55 cast a long shadow in the fields of literature, education and archaeology.
Streiff was a member of the group of young WU-educated writers and artists that included Michael McClure, David Haselwood and Bruce Conner; their stillborn 1952 attempt to remake WU's literary magazine into what today would be considered a "Beat" publication finally saw the light of day in 1996, in the form of Provincial Review, printed from the vintage paste-up sheets and published by Streiff's own Vortex Press.
Though a number of his friends escaped the "Wichita Vortex" for greater fame, Streiff remained in his hometown, where he worked to improve the quality of public education.
He taught at Wichita Southeast High School for 35 years, chairing that school's social studies department for the last 18 years of his career there. He retired in 1992. His contributions to the school system are numerous. Beginning in the 1960s, he took an active role as a negotiator for the local NEA chapter, even authoring an instructional handbook to help inexperienced union groups across the state initiate the negotiation process; a professional negotiations bill he wrote became law.
Outside of education, his interests were many and widely varied. An enthusiast of science fiction and folk music, he also discovered an important archaeological site (the Hackberry Site) in east Wichita in 1972.
Streiff died Aug. 1 in Wichita.
