Virginia May Currey, former Southern Methodist University political science professor, charter member of the Women's Studies Program, and political activist, died of pneumonia on September 22 at the age of 78.

Ms. Currey was born May 6, 1927, in Gowrie, Iowa. She received her bachelor's degree from the State University of Iowa, a master's degree in international affairs from Columbia University and a doctorate from the University of Iowa. She taught in the Middle East and did research for the CIA before becoming a professor first at the University of Texas at Arlington and then at SMU where she taught for 32 years.

Ms. Currey married Donald P. Currey in 1954. Mr. Currey died of cancer 10 years later, and Ms. Currey raised their three children as a single parent.

While at SMU Currey encouraged her students to run for political office and to work on campaigns. Allan Saxe, a political analyst and associate professor of political science at the University of Texas at Arlington, said that as an educator and an individual, Ms. Currey left an indelible impression. He said her teaching style influenced his, putting “the classroom in the political marketplace” by taking students to Austin and Washington, D.C., both to observe and participate. She also organized and taught pioneer courses on women in politics and Black politics at a time when those subjects were still viewed with some suspicion. Currey was both a social scientist and a committed activist equally at home in the coolness of academic discourse and in the heat of campaign rhetoric.

Currey was best known in Texas as a member of the State Board of Education from 1976 to 1984. She was able to successfully fight for eradicating racism and sexism in state-adopted textbooks. “Because of my mother and others like her, textbooks are no longer littered with stereotypes,” daughter Ellen Currey-Wilson said.

Currey served as a delegate to the Democratic convention in 1968 and 1972 and was a founding member of the Texas Women's Political Caucus, the National Women's Political Caucus, the National Women's Studies Association, and the Veteran Feminists of America. Currey's work earned her several prestigious awards, including the Wonder Woman award in 1982, which was presented to her by Gloria Steinem, and the Friend of Freedom Award, given by the Americans United for Separation of Church and State.

Currey is survived by her sister, Margaret Paulos of Davenport, Iowa; a brother, John Anderson of Storm Lake, Iowa; two daughters, Ellen Currey-Wilson of Portland, Ore. and Amy Currey of Eugene, Ore.; a son, James Currey of Shady Shores, Texas; and five grandchildren.