Alice C. Jantzen

Alice Catherine Jantzen (August 17, 1918 – October 22, 1983) was an American occupational therapist, educator, researcher and author. She was the first president of the American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF). Jantzen was professor of occupational therapy at the University of Florida for 18 years (1958 to 1976).

Early life and education Jantzen was born in Brookline, Massachusetts. She was the first of five children of Francis Thomas Jantzen and Alice Marie Doyle Jantzen. Her father graduated from Harvard Medical School and was a resident surgeon at Carney and Boston City hospitals.

Jantzen attended Brookline High School and Wellesley College, graduating with a degree in the History of Art. :27 She was first soprano in the College Choir and a member of the golf team.

In the 1940s Jantzen served in the United States Navy. In the 1950s and 1960s, she studied occupational therapy and earned a master degree and a doctorate. She completed a two-year, certificate program at the Boston School of Occupational Therapy. As a veteran she obtained funding for training under the 1944 G.I. Bill. She did her doctoral studies at Boston College, producing a “landmark study” analysing data from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) member registry which dispelled myths about the careers of female occupational therapists. She enlisted on 3 July 1943 as an Ensign. Jantzen is named in the Military Registers for Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Naval and Reserve, indicating she was one of many Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, or WAVES, who served in the Navy.

She worked at the United States Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. during World War II. Between October 1943-March 1944, Gilbert D. Kinzer, a physicist and Jantzen investigated "the velocity loss of a 4-inch HC Mark 15 projectile penetrating thin plate at velocities well above limit". Jantzen knew that her "intellectual talents are in science and maths". Later, Jantzen described her training as "a pure apprenticeship system. Don't think. Just do".

In 1971 Jantzen received a distinguished faculty award from the University of Florida. She was the Eleanor Clark Slagle Lecturer in 1973. This lecture is the highest scholarly honor awarded by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Jantzen spoke about education; professionalism and research, emphasising the need to increase research to validate theory or practice. :529

Jantzen was appointed head of the occupational therapy programme at Colorado State University in 1976. :316 Llorens considered Jantzen "very creative in her recruiting because it was the South". :2 This organisation was set up to advance the science of occupational therapy, to provide scholarships and fellowships, to finance and conduct research. Jantzen was a consultant to the development of the Foundation's Roster of Research and a member of the Foundation’s Institutional Review Board. :822 It received positive reviews, as "practical, readable, and concise. It takes research right to its core. Our profession really needs this book". The book was her most tangible legacy to her profession. Proposed revision of the professional education of occupational therapists (1958) The contribution of occupational therapy to patient care (1960) Some strengths of occupational therapy (1963) Graduate degrees held by occupational therapist (1964) Patient evaluation of occupational therapy programs (1965) A prediction of clinical performance (1965) The effects of response sets in questionnaire studies (1965) Relative effectiveness of personality achievement and interest measures in the prediction of a performance criterion (1969) Definitions of mental health and mental illness (1969) Some characteristics of female occupational therapists 1970 (1972) Employment patterns of female occupational therapists,1970. Some characteristics of female occupational therapists (1972) Some characteristics of male occupational therapists, 1970 (1972) 1973 Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture. Academic occupational therapy: a career speciality (1974) A proposal for occupational therapy education (1977)

Death and legacy Alice Catherine Jantzen died in 1983, aged 65 following a long illness. She died at her home in Golden Hook, Columbia, Maryland.

The February 1986 issue of the American Journal of Occupational Therapy was dedicated to Jantzen’s commitment to education, research and mentoring to support the development of future generations. There was a tribute to a friend, colleague and mentor. "Today, her influence on the program continues with on-going curriculum revisions, close inter-collegial relationships among faculty members, academic excellence in students, a view of the department in the broader perspective of the university, and a commitment to occupational therapy as a valuable and viable health care service". :95

In 2008, the University of Florida established an Alice C. Jantzen Fellowship Fund in her memory. This was for an annual scholarship for occupational therapy students who portray exemplary leadership and academic excellence. In 2025, the sponsors made an additional gift to fully endow the Fellowship, to honour "a pioneer of modern occupational therapy practice … (who) was not afraid to advocate for change".

To mark its 100th anniversary in 2017, the American Occupational Therapy Association identified "100 Influential People" in the field, and Jantzen was one of those named.

Awards and honors Jantzen was awarded the two highest honors bestowed by the American Occupational Therapy Association: the Roster of Fellows and the OT Award of Merit. :124 In 1973, she was one of the first recipients of the AOTA Roster of Fellows, an award for sustained, volunteer service, leadership or expertise, that had a measurable impact on the profession. Jantzen received the OT Award of Merit, conferred in recognition of long-standing work that advanced the profession, in 1979.