Gabel, Katherine, 1938

Katherine Gabel, Dean of the School for Social Work (1976-1985)

Born April 9, 1938 in Rochester, New York, Gabel graduated from Columbia School for Girls in 1955. She entered Smith College in 1955, during which time she lived in Wilder House. After graduating in 1959 with a degree in Sociology and Anthropology she went on to earn her M.S.W. from Simmons School of Social Work with a focus on psychiatric social work. In 1967 she earned her Ph.D. in Criminology from Syracuse University and her J.D. from Albany Law School in 1970.

From 1970 until 1976, she worked as the Superintendent of the Arizona Girls School, an institution for juvenile detention and rehabilitation. Because of her work there, she was appointed as Rally Day speaker in 1972. She later received the Smith College Medal in 1976.

Appointed the Dean of the Smith School for Social Work in 1976, she devoted her energy to enlarging and widening the curriculum, diversifying the applicant pool, and securing grants money for the school. In 1985 she was appointed president of the floundering Pacific Oaks College and Children's School, leading the school to meet accreditation standards and find financial security.

In 2000 she left the college to become the West Regional Director for the Casey Family Programs, a non-profit that works to reduce the need for foster care. In 2004 she became the West Regional Director of Lambda Legal, a firm that works for the protection of rights for the LGBTQ community. Although she retired in 2008 she remains active in the LGBTQ community. In 2013 she and longtime partner Dr. Eunice Shatz married in Fresno, California.