The KASD Ed Foundation Board announced the 2020 Distinguished Alumna of the year, Dr. Karen L. Rauch, Ph.D., KAHS Class of 1980. Dr. Rauch received her Ph.D. from The University of Virginia. She currently serves as Associate Provost for Accreditation and Assessment at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, where she has also served as Associate Professor, Chair of the Modern Language Studies Department, and Associate Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. As a faculty member, she taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Caribbean studies, nineteenth-century Peninsular (Spanish) and Latin American literature, civilization and culture, translation/interpreting, and Spanish for business.
Dr. Rauch served as KAHS Class of 1980’s President for four years and represented her class as Valedictorian. She played alto clarinet, qualifying for county, district and state band. She was also a cheerleader and a member of the Honor Society. After leaving KAHS, Rauch earned her baccalaureate degree at Allentown College of St. Francis de Sales (now DeSales University), where she was a double major in French and Spanish. She went on to study literature at Duke University, earning a Master’s degree in 1986. She has taught at Duke University, University of Virginia, Alvernia University (then College), and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Dr. Rauch’s contributions to the local community include her service on the Board of Directors of the Kutztown Area Historical Society as well as her involvement with the Bowers Fall Festival and Chili Pepper Festival. She is the daughter of Muriel and Kenneth Rauch of Bowers, Pennsylvania.
Dr. Rauch will be honored at a reception at a time and place to be determined following the easing of current social distancing restrictions. Dr. Rauch will deliver a recorded commencement address to the Kutztown Area High School’s graduating class of 2020.
