Julius Smulkstys was born in Kaunas, Lithuania, in 1930 and came to the United States with his parents as a refugee in 1949. He grew up in Chicago. He received his BA and MA degrees in political science from the University of Illinois, Champaign/Urbana, and completed his Ph.D. at Indiana University–Bloomington in 1963.
Julius started teaching at what was then known as the Indiana University Center in 1959. He was the founder of the department of political science, first on the IU Fort Wayne campus and then at the Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne campus. He served as chair until 1978.
Julius also served as Dean of the School of Arts and Letters from 1981 to 1988 and then as Acting Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences from 1988 to 1989. He retired in 1995 at the rank of associate professor of political science/emeritus.
Julius was committed to faculty governance and spent much time setting up not only the department of political science, but also the emerging university in Fort Wayne that eventually combined the services offered by Indiana University and Purdue University in northeast Indiana.
Julius' main academic contribution was his book on Karl Marx, published in New York by Twayne Publishers (World Authors Series) in 1974. He also wrote on Lithuanian politics. His teaching focus was Marxist theory, totalitarian systems, and East European politics.
His love for his homeland never abated. Following the end of the Cold War, he became active in the democratization and liberalization of Lithuania. Following his retirement, Julius spent a lot of time in Lithuania. In 1998, he became advisor to Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus. He was presidential liaison on Lithuanian-Jewish relations. He also served on the International Commission for the Evaluation of Crimes of the Nazi and the Russian Occupation Regimes in Lithuania. For his services, in February of 2010, he was awarded the highest civilian recognition offered by the Lithuanian government, that of the Cross of the Commander of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas.
Survivors include his wife, Isabel; daughter, Inga Smulkstys and her husband, Christopher Klose, of Washington, DC; a son, Linas Smulkstys, and his wife, Katie Smulkstys, of Chicago; grandchildren Noah and Lina Klose; and his brother, Liudas Smulkstys of Lemont, Illinois.
