Stitzel Planned Gift Connects Past, Present, and Future of Women at WVU

By Cassie Rice

As the founding director of West Virginia University’s Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, Judith Gold Stitzel created new educational opportunities for generations of WVU students. She is now building upon that legacy with a planned gift to connect all WVU women past, present, and future.

A Long and Generous History at WVU

Stitzel came to WVU in the 1960s with her late husband, Robert, a longtime professor of pharmacology who later served as director of graduate education. She began teaching English, yet her focus shifted as the new discipline of women’s studies evolved nationwide. WVU began offering special topics courses in the 1970s and established a formal Center for Women’s Studies in 1984.

The Stitzels began contemplating their shared legacy long before retirement. They gave generously to the University and joined the Irvin Stewart Society in the 1990s, each of them making planned gifts in gratitude to WVU for its ongoing commitment to equity and diversity.

Following his passing in 2007, Robert Stitzel’s planned gift boosted namesake funds established during his lifetime to support graduate student projects and students facing unexpected emergencies.

Paving the Way for Future Women Leaders

Judith Stitzel has designated WVU as a partial beneficiary of her life annuity policy and continues to clarify her specific goals as the world continues to change. Per her latest update, her gift will be equally divided between WVU Libraries’ West Virginia Feminist Activist Collection and a new fund—to be named for both Robert and Judith—that will support the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies.

Stitzel appreciates the flexibility to shape her gift in partnership with the WVU Foundation’s Planned Giving team.

“Our planned gifts have been a way of saying thank you to WVU and letting the institution know what was and is important to us,” she said. “You can make specific changes over time, but when you plan your gift, you are secure in the knowledge that you’ll be making a difference into the future.”