Gary W. Kielhofner

Department Head, 1986–2006

A visionary scholar and leader, Gary Kielhofner transformed occupational therapy education and practice worldwide through the development of the Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) and his commitment to evidence-based, occupation-centered care.

My real passion is to provide practitioners with increasingly useful means for doing occupation-focused practice.

Gary W. Kielhofner

Early life and education

Gary Wayne Kielhofner was born in 1949 in rural Missouri. He spent seven years in seminary training to become a Vincentian Catholic priest and missionary before pursuing psychology at St. Louis University, where he earned his undergraduate degree in 1971. During the Vietnam War, he served as a conscientious objector, completing alternative service as an aide in a hospital-based occupational therapy department. This experience, along with witnessing his grandmother’s recovery after a leg amputation, inspired him to enter the field of occupational therapy.

Kielhofner earned a master’s degree from the University of Southern California in 1975, where he was mentored by Mary Reilly, whose work on occupational behavior addressed theoretical gaps he had identified in the profession. He went on to earn a doctor of public health degree from UCLA in 1980. Before joining the University of Illinois Chicago, he held faculty positions at USC, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Boston University. In 1980, he co-published the seminal series introducing the Model of Human Occupation with colleagues Janice Burke and Cynthia Heard Igi.

Leadership at UIC

Kielhofner served as department head from 1986 to 2006, a period of substantial growth and innovation. Initially hesitant to take on the administrative role, he was drawn to UIC’s distinctive “Illinois Plan,” which integrated academic education with clinical service and allowed him to also serve as chief of clinical services. He successfully guided the UIC OT department through a period of significant growth, helping position it as a research-intensive program.

During his tenure, he oversaw:

  • The creation of the first PhD program in disability studies in the United States
  • Development of a new entry-level master’s degree and a post-professional clinical doctor of occupational therapy program
  • A comprehensive curriculum revision emphasizing theory-driven, occupation-centered practice
  • Fifteen research and training grant projects funded by federal government agencies, AOTF and AOTA, totaling over 6.5 million dollars
  • A collaborative process with the UIC OT faculty to develop and advance a “scholarship of practice” linking theory, research, and clinical application
  • Expansion of the department’s international reputation as a center for occupational therapy scholarship, research, and clinical excellence

Under his guidance, UIC consistently ranked among the top five occupational therapy degree programs in the nation.

Contributions to the profession

Kielhofner’s influence on occupational therapy is profound and enduring. His contributions include:

  • Publishing a seminal 1988 paper with Janice Burke on the evolution of knowledge in the field which became a foundation for his widely-used textbooks
  • Developing and refining the Model of Human Occupation, one of the most widely used conceptual practice models in the field worldwide
  • Publishing 19 books, 26 book chapters, and more than 160 peer-reviewed articles; his primary textbooks have sold over 110,000 copies and been translated into multiple languages
  • Overseeing the creation and validation of 21 clinical assessment tools and establishing the MOHO Clearinghouse to disseminate resources internationally
  • Leading the the AOTA/AOTF Center for Outcomes Research and Education at UIC, mentoring emerging scholars and advancing psychometric research in occupational therapy

His work laid the foundation for evidence-based, occupation-focused clinical practice and research worldwide.

Scholarship and legacy

Gary Kielhofner’s legacy is defined by his transformative scholarship and mentorship. The Model of Human Occupation focuses on how a person’s motivation, values, interests, and self-efficacy influence their roles and habits, in the context of their environment. For thirty years, Kielhofner led validation studies of the model, incorporated new concepts, and developed “practical tools” to support practitioners in assessment and outcome measurement.

The scholarship of practice model continues to provide a theoretical and practical foundation for occupational therapy programs and clinical practice. Kielhofner forged strong collaborations with OT scholars from across the globe, notably in Sweden, Chile, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The department continues to build on this model of international collaboration.

Kielhofner is recognized for his combination of intellect, energy, and commitment and for his dedication to mentoring students, faculty and colleagues. Following his death in 2010, his wife, Dr. Renée Taylor, and colleagues continue to advance his vision of client-centered, occupation-focused practice. He was posthumously awarded the AOTA Award of Merit in 2010 and was named one of the 100 influential people in the first century of the occupational therapy profession in 2017.

Leadership and accomplishments

  2. Black and white photos of a group of people
    Three years after becoming the UIC OT department head, Kielhofner was invited to participate in the American Occupational Therapy Association meeting of scholars for the Directions for the Future Strategic Planning Committee (1989). Front row, L to R: Gail Fidler, Lorna Jean King, Diane Parham, Anne Mosey. Back row: Ann Grady, Gary Kielhofner, Cathleen Trombly, Eleanor Gilfoyle, Lela Llorens, and Claudia Allen.
  3. Black and white photo of a group of people.
    UIC Creative and Digital Services
    1992 site visit for the AOTA/AOTF funded UIC Center of Research (CORE) in Occupational Therapy. Front row, L to R: Master’s student Trudy Mallinson, Wilma West (AOTA), and Nedra Gillette (AOTF). Back row: Clinical instructor Clare Curtin, professor and head Gary Kielhofner, and assistant professor Craig Velozo.
  4. a woman standing holding a bouquet of flowers, and a man in a suit standing next to her smiling.
    Lena Borell, left, the first doctorally prepared occupational therapist in Sweden, celebrates her 1992 PhD graduation from the Karolinska Institute with Kielhofner, who was her mentor.
  5. 3 people smiling at the camera, black and white photo
    UIC Creative and Digital Services
    Celebrating the dedication of the Beatrice D. Wade library in the UIC OT department in 1992: (left to right, standing) OT department head Gary Kielhofner, clinical assistant professor Deborah Walens ‘73 BS OT, ’89 MPHE, and (seated) founding department head Beatrice D. Wade. Kielhofner considered Wade a visionary and mentor, as described in his 2007 paper in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy.
  9. A group of 5 people smiling at the camera.
    Tak Yamada (left) a colleague from Japan and his students joined the first Model of Human Occupation (MOHO) International Institute led by Kielhofner at UIC in January 2010. Kielhofner had strong partnerships in Asia, Europe, the UK, and South America, where he worked with colleagues on assessment development, translation of his books, and advancement of the MOHO.
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