By Jill Pease
Carol H. Gwin, OT/L, FAOTA, credits Alice Jantzen, Ph.D., former University of Florida occupational therapy chair, with helping her look past appearances to really see people.
Gwin, who received her bachelor’s degree in occupational therapy from the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions in 1969, recalls one of Jantzen’s most well-known assignments in which she asked students to sit in front of the elevators at Shands Hospital for half an hour and write observations about the people they saw.
“After reviewing them with Dr. Jantzen, we discovered while we were busy making observations about people’s appearances there was probably a lot that we had missed,” Gwin said. “I learned a lot about myself and gained an important skill that helped me serve my clients and colleagues effectively throughout my career.”
Gwin and her husband Bob Gwin were on campus November 17 to make an additional gift to fully endow the Alice C. Jantzen Fellowship, the fund they established in 2008 to honor Jantzen, founding chair of the UF Department of Occupational Therapy from 1958 to 1976. The fund awards an annual scholarship to deserving occupational therapy students who portray exemplary leadership and academic excellence.
Jantzen saw something in Gwin early on and admitted her to the program. When Gwin got married, she offered her a scholarship to make sure she stayed in the program.
“She obviously saw in me a lot of potential that I did not see when I was in my 20s,” Gwin said. “She was always pushing me until her death to do the best I could no matter what job I had.”
Following graduation, Gwin went on to have a clinical career for 14 years in developmental disabilities, rehabilitation, mental health and acute care. She then joined the American Occupational Therapy Association, where she served in a variety of leadership roles for 25 years, including as assistant director of practice, practice and technology program manager, regional representative, and governance specialist, before retiring in 2009.
Through the Alice C. Jantzen Fellowship, Gwin and her husband hope to provide support and encouragement for aspiring occupational therapists, as well as honor Jantzen, a giant in the OT profession whose career spanned three decades beginning in the 1950s. A pioneer of modern occupational therapy practice, Jantzen made numerous contributions to the profession and was not afraid to advocate for change. Among her bold ideas were elevating occupational therapy education to the graduate level and urging therapists to pursue research to strengthen the evidence behind their interventions. Although controversial at the time, both proposals were later embraced. To mark the profession’s 100th anniversary in 2017, the American Occupational Therapy Association named Jantzen among the 100 most influential people in occupational therapy.
“Dr. Jantzen inspired me in the ’60s and still does in the 21st century,” Gwin said.