Roy Cravzow ’61
“Without Lehigh and Professor Valenzuela, who led me to meet Professor Rabassa, I wouldn’t have enjoyed these lifelong relationships and the success I achieved in my two interrelated careers.” —Roy Cravzow ’61
For Roy Cravzow ’61, coming to Lehigh just made sense. He wanted to be far enough away from home in Long Island, New York, to get that "going away to college" feel, but near enough to not have to fly home for holidays. He liked that Lehigh had strong programs in business, the arts and his initial major, engineering. Little did he know that taking a Spanish class in his first year would change the entire trajectory of his life.
That class was taught by a newly arrived romance languages professor, Victor Valenzuela, who became an advisor, mentor and lifelong friend. At Valenzuela’s encouragement, Cravzow earned a bachelor’s degree in Spanish at Lehigh. He also earned a master’s in Spanish and a certificate in Latin American studies from Columbia University.
There he met another life-influencing professor, Gregory Rabassa, who would become his dissertation advisor as well as another dear friend.
A switch in concentration to Portuguese, a doctorate in comparative literature (Portuguese) from City University of New York and a Fulbright fellowship to Brazil all led Cravzow to a career as an adjunct professor of Spanish and Portuguese at Queens College in New York from 1968 through 1989.
In 1974, using the knowledge of Brazilian culture that he learned from Valenzuela and Rabassa, Cravzow began an industrial export business serving clients in Brazil that he was still running until the COVID-19 pandemic recently curtailed operations.
Honoring the memory of the two professors who so influenced him led Cravzow to create his first charitable gift annuity in 2010. Subsequently, he established 13 gift annuities and has also made a generous bequest provision.
Using the residuum of the annuities and his eventual bequest, a permanent endowment fund to be known as the Rabassa/Valenzuela Endowed Chair in Latin American Literature and Culture will be established.
Cravzow appreciates the steady income stream his annuities provide, as well as the tax deductions he received in the year he made the contributions.
“It’s a win-win for everybody. When I found out about the charitable gift annuity program, I thought it was great," Cravzow says. "The deciding factor was that, between the gift annuity program and a confirmed bequest, I could make a plan to fund an endowed chair at Lehigh. Without Lehigh and Professor Valenzuela, who led me to meet Professor Rabassa, I wouldn’t have enjoyed these lifelong relationships and the success I achieved in my two interrelated careers.”
You can also honor those who have impacted your life with a gift. Contact the Office of Planned Giving at (610) 758-4749 or intower@lehigh.edu to learn more.
Story by Cynthia Tintorri
