Dr. Jane Katz has taught thousands of students about the benefits of water fitness at the City University of New York (CUNY) since 1964, specifically for John Jay students since 1989. She is a Professor in the Department of Health and Physical Education as well as an aquatics innovator and author. Her primary expertise is educating the public on the benefits of aquatics for health and fitness. As a member of the 1964 U.S. Synchronized Swimming Performance Team in Tokyo, Dr. Katz helped pioneer the acceptance of synchronized swimming as an Olympic event. Her achievements as a Master competitive, long distance, synchronized, and fin swimmer have earned her many All-American and World Master championships. At the Sydney Olympics in 2000 she was honored by Federation Internationale de Natation Amateur (FINA) with the Certificate of Merit for her 43 years of contribution to the sport of swimming. In 2014 she received the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2004, for the second time she was voted Women's Swimming Coach of the year for the CUNY Division III schools. In 2007, Dr. Katz helped create the Kids Aquatic Re-Entry (KARE) Program, in cooperation with the New York City Department of Juvenile Justice to help troubled youth learn life's lessons poolside. She had also created Senior Exercise Programs geared towards aquatic fitness for older adults. Her latest splash is W.E.T.s 4 VETS(R) (Water Exercise Techniques for Veterans), a holistic program for returning veterans at John Jay College, to help them reintegrate into mainstream civilian life through Water Exercise Techniques. Dr. Katz received the Outstanding Teacher Award for the 1999-2000 academic year at John Jay college. In 2010, Dr. Katz was the recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award from John Jay College and in 2014 received the Distinguished Teaching Award sponsored by the John Jay College's Center for the Advancement of Teaching. Dr. Katz grew up in the Lower East Side in New York City's Jewish community and she has not ignored her roots. She has been participating in the Maccabiah Games around the world since 1957. In 2011, she was the Team Captain for the USA Swim Team at the European Maccabiah Games in Vienna, Austria. In March 2011, Dr. Katz was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame and Museum In 2013, Dr. Katz swept the Maccabiah Games by winning eleven individual gold medals in her age group and an additional two medals in USA team relay events. Her latest splash was in Israel of July 2017 culiminating in 60 years of Maccabiah Games.In June of 2011, she was honored at the United Nations by the International Marathon Swimming Hall of Fame, given their Certificate of Merit Award, and three years later in Scotland was inducted into their Hall of Fame. In September 2012, she was inducted into the John Jay College Athletic Hall of Fame.In 2013, Jane Katz was selected by Aquatics International as one of the 2013 Power 25, a roundup of the most influential people in aquatics in the past 25 years, including Olympic superstars Michael Phelps, Janet Evans and Greg Lougains. The year 2014 marked both John Jay's and Dr. Katz's 50th anniversaries at CUNY. Dr. Katz has competed in the 2009, 2015, 2017 and 2019 National Senior Games. Dr. Jane Katz is an accomplished writer with 16 books to her credit. Her first book published in 1981, Swimming for Total Fitness, was followed by videos, DVDs, CDs, newspaper and TV interviews, and numerous articles including Encyclopedia Britannica's Take the Plunge: Swimming for Health, and Aquatic Exercise.
