The Honorable Raymond Allen “Ray” Lutzky, Ph.D., is an American professor and digital communications expert with 20 years of experience growing the reach of the world’s most innovative institutions.
Dr. Ray Lutzky is Vice President, University Partnerships at Academic Partnerships, a leading EdTech company helping institutions increase student access to top-quality, affordable and workforce relevant education delivered online. He previously served as Director, Academic Partnerships at InStride; a public benefit EdTech company created in 2019 by Arizona State University and TPG, focused on online workforce education.
Ray also held enrollment management leadership roles at Cornell, NYU, Pace University, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). At these universities he oversaw undergraduate and graduate admissions, global student recruitment, financial aid and marketing communications. Prior to his work at institutions, he held business development roles at Marketing Management Analytics and the CAMPUSPEAK agency.
Dr. Lutzky holds the academic ranks of Adjunct Lecturer in the School of Communication at the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and Adjunct Professor at NYU Tandon School of Engineering. (See “Courses“)
Ray has served on the Board of Directors for nonprofit organizations including NAGAP, the Association for Graduate Enrollment Management, and the Colorado LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce. In 2007, the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky awarded him a commission as a Kentucky Colonel. Ray is an accomplished public speaker and has lectured at education events across The Americas, Asia, and Europe. From 2005-2009, he was a nationally-recognized speaker on hazing prevention for college students funded by the NCAA. (See “Keynotes“)
Ray has also served as a volunteer leader for educational organizations. He served for 5 years as Vice President of the Rensselaer Alumni Association, which presented him with their Alumni Key Award in 2006. Ray also volunteered extensively for Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity International, serving as a conference facilitator, recruitment consultant and alumni trainer.
Prior to his work in higher education, Ray worked in marketing communications and public relations. While at Marketing Management Analytics, pioneers in marketing mix modeling, Ray supported business development and public relations activities. He began his communications career in Washington, D.C. with clients including the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Janssen Pharmaceutica and the Office of the Director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
Ray’s lifelong passion for education and information technology started as a student at Pelham Memorial High School in New York. As a teenager at the height of the dot-com boom, Ray taught the school’s first Internet teacher training and upgraded school district computers. He developed an early interest in educational technology, computer science and the intersection of technology and creativity.
Ray earned his B.S. in electronic media, arts, and communication from RPI, from which he later received his Ph.D. in communication and rhetoric (committee chair Audrey G. Bennett, with members James P. Zappen, Roger A. Grice, and Ron Eglash). Ray’s doctoral dissertation “Diversifying STEAM: Culturally Situated Drawing for Math Education with African-American Youth” explores the relationship between culture, math education, design and technology. He also holds a master of science degree in public relations from the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University and a master of science in digital audience strategy from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. In December 2020, Ray completed a Certificate program in Leadership Principles at Harvard Business School Online.