Ray and Kitty Katzell Create a Legacy for NYU Students

Ray and Kittie Katzel with their prized ’28 Stutz (ca. 1994)

Ray and Kitty Katzell were closely connected to the University from the day Ray arrived as an undergraduate at the Heights campus in 1935 at the age of 16. He completed his bachelor’s at NYU in 1939, his master’s at the Graduate School of Arts and Science (GSAS) in 1941, and his doctorate in 1943. Except for a few years after World War II, he was continuously associated with the University from then until he retired in 1985.

Kitty earned her doctoral degree at Columbia, but she did take one course at NYU. For Kitty, this may not have been the most auspicious welcome to the NYU family; she and Ray were married on the day of her final exam in that course, and Kitty received a permanent grade of "Incomplete."

Ray was an early leader in the field of organizational psychology and initiated a cooperative program of research and education between GSAS and the NYU School of Engineering in 1957, holding a joint appointment to both schools. He served as chair of the psychology department from 1963 to 1972 and continued teaching in that department until his retirement in 1985. As emeritus professor he maintained an office at the department and close relationships with the department's graduate students until his death.

Ray was a leading light in the nascent areas of research in motivation, productivity, and job satisfaction. His seminal and visionary research into discrimination in employment testing led to Ray's chairing of the federal committee that led to the first EEOC testing guidelines. His prominence and deep influence resulted in his name appearing as a crossword puzzle solution in the house publication of the American Psychological Association. Ray was also a devoted antique car collector and editor of a prize-winning book The Splendid Stutz.

Ray and Kitty were deeply committed to the psychology department's students through the decades—and following Ray's retirement, they provided in their estates for the endowment of fellowship awards in their names for post-graduate students. They also realized that investing in the NYU charitable gift annuity would be a wise financial choice while also helping to build up the fellowship fund.

They contributed to their first gift annuity in 2002, and Kitty continued to make additional contributions to it almost every year. As Kitty remarked, "The money is safe, I don't have to keep track of the market, and the quarterly payments are deposited directly to my bank. It's a very simple and reassuring way to do well by doing good."

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