Nafe Katter

Nafe Edmund Katter (October 25, 1927 – August 20, 2014) was a stage actor and director who taught theatre at the University of Connecticut from 1957 to 1997. In 2000, Katter donated $1 million to build the 241-seat Nafe Katter Theatre, which opened in 2004 on UConn's campus in Storrs.

Life and career Born in Saginaw, Michigan, Katter was the son of a Lebanese baker, Nafe W. Katter, and Meta Blohm Katter. Katter planned to become a lawyer but discovered his true calling when he took a theatre class. He went on to earn his BA, MA, and PhD degrees from the University of Michigan. After a stint as an actor in New York City, Katter joined the University of Connecticut's faculty in 1957. He oversaw the university's acting program and directed one hundred productions, including Shakespearean plays and musicals. Katter retired in 1997 as professor emeritus of theater.

Legacy In 2000, Katter donated $1 million to build the 12,000-square-foot, 241-seat Nafe Katter Theatre at UConn. The new theatre featured a thrust stage long needed by the university's performing arts programs. To raise money for the gift, Katter sold real estate, including a Florida condo and a London flat he had bought in the 1970s.

Katter made another gift of $400,000 in 2014 to the School of Fine Arts at UConn to fund the construction of a production facility behind the Katter Theatre. Katter had never married and had no children. He was survived by his sister Elnora Katter Hamady, a niece, and two nephews.