Kathryn Hach-Darrow

Kathryn "Kitty" Hach-Darrow (October 20, 1922 – June 4, 2020) was an American businesswoman and philanthropist who co-founded the Hach Chemical Company in 1947 with her first husband Clifford C. Hach (pronounced hɑ:k). She was essential to the company's expansion, flying her own plane to small airfields across the country to sell water purification kits. She became president, chief operating officer, and CEO of the Hach company.

Kathryn Hach-Darrow was also the first woman director of the American Water Works Association, an international non-profit working for better water quality. She has been noted for philanthropic work as well as her entrepreneurial success, and has received a number of awards and honors as a result of her contributions to both business and chemistry.

At Iowa State University, Kitty met Nellie May Naylor, a chemist in the home economics department who interested her in chemistry.

Clifford did not receive his bachelor's degree until 1947, because he and other students were co-opted to work on war-time projects at the university. It was difficult to find jobs after graduation. Eventually, Clifford was hired part-time by a filtration company in Ames, Iowa to analyze water. Seeing how the water-treatment plant worked gave Clifford the idea for a process and a product: a simplified method of analysis that would enable workers to treat water with powdered formulas rather than heavy chemical solutions. She later served on numerous AWWA committees, including the President's Advisory Council. and was renamed Hach Company in 1980. In 1987, the Hach Company was elected the Best Company in Colorado, receiving the award for the Northeastern part of the state. In January 2000, she was voted a member of the Colorado Business Hall of Fame (sponsored by the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce and Junior Achievement). Kathryn "Kitty" Hach-Darrow received the second annual Pittcon Heritage Award in 2003.

Philanthropy

In 1982 the Hachs established the Hach Scientific Foundation to support chemistry in the classroom through grants to students and schools. In January 2009, the Hach Scientific Foundation transferred its assets to the American Chemical Society, which continues to administer the scholarship and grant programs. In May 2000, Kathryn Hach-Darrow gave a $10 million gift to Northwood University. The Hach Student Life Center, a 62,212 square foot student center which includes classrooms, social areas, and sports facilities, opened in 2002. Kitty Hach-Darrow and the Hach family were significant contributors to the building of Hach Hall, a new chemistry building dedicated at Iowa State University on October 8, 2010. Through gifts in 2012 and 2014, Hach-Darrow established an endowment for the Kathryn C. Hach Award for Entrepreneurial Success through the American Chemical Society. The award is to be given to someone who has "created something where nothing existed before”.