Kathryn Engel

Ames, Iowa

Kathryn Engel did not graduate from Iowa State University as did her late husband, Ray (’29 engineering), but she has been as active, as loyal, and as strong a supporter of the university
as any alumna or alumnus ever was.

The Engels provided significant support for several Iowa State projects, including establishing the Raymond A. Engel Mechanical Engineering Laboratory, and scholarships for students and student-athletes.

Kathryn’s generosity to the university has continued unabated after Ray’s death in 1986. She continues to support scholarships and facility projects for intercollegiate athletics. She provided the leadership gift for the James H. Hilton Coliseum addition that houses offices for the men’s and women’s basketball programs, as well as major gifts for the Jacobson Athletic Building, the Jack Trice Stadium Press Tower, and Bergstrom Indoor Training Facility. Having played basketball herself in high school, she has been a strong advocate and active supporter of women’s athletic programs at Iowa State as a volunteer, fan and donor.

Kathryn is a life member of the ISU Alumni Association, governor of the ISU Foundation and a member of the Order of the Knoll. In 1993 she was named Cy's Favorite Alum.

Kathryn’s passions have always been teaching and young people. She received her Teaching Certificate in 1934 from the Iowa State Teachers College (now University of Northern Iowa) and her bachelor’s degree in education from Drake University in 1955. She spent 18 years as a teacher, first in a one-room rural school house, and later in the Melbourne, Newberg, Beaman and Marshalltown districts. In 1936, she married Paul Johnson, a Marshalltown business owner, who passed away in 1953. In 1958, she married Ray and together they supported several community projects in the Marshalltown area and at Iowa State University. Kathryn currently lives in Ames.

Her son, Dale Johnson (’60, MS ’64 mechanical engineering), played basketball for Iowa State. He retired in 1997 as director of engineering for 3M in Minneapolis. He and his wife, Janice, have three children and seven grandchildren.