Deborah Kay Fitzgerald started her life as the youngest child with three older siblings and grew up with her two parents in Remson, Iowa,[4] a small town on the west side of the state with about 1,600 people total.

She returned to college, this time at Iowa State University,[4] and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English in 1978.

Only being in the position for a year and a half, Khoury took a promotion in the provost office, leaving the seat of acting dean to Fitzgerald, which she happily took[4] in 2006.

[6] Deborah Kay Fitzgerald was very clear about the importance of humanities, arts and social sciences while holding the role of associate dean for SHASS.

She feels that it is the job of Universities to teach students all skills necessary to solve issues in a wholly educated way of thinking.

[4] Fitzgerald became chair of The Gender Equity Committee in SHASS in June 2000 to report on the number of women in senior positions from 2001 to 2002.