She is survived by her son, Ross Gittell and daughter, Amy Gittell Gallagher, and four grandchildren.
She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Brooklyn College in 1952. She earned a Master's Degree in Public Administration and a Doctorate in Philosophy in Political Science both at New York University in New York City.
She taught at Queens College in the 1960s and 1970s.
From 1978 until her death in 2010, she was the professor of political science at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She was also director of the Howard Samuels Center, an arm of the graduate center that studies public policy.
She was an Assistant Vice President and Associate Provost at Brooiklyn College.