Alumni
Hands of Change
Hands of Change is the Alumni Association of San Jose State University Department of Occupational Therapy. Its mission is to provide a bridge between its members and the department, promote a sense of unity, and provide opportunities for networking and mentoring while acting as a resource to enhance knowledge and growth.
Donate
If you believe that San Jose State University and the Occupational Therapy Department contributed to, or were instrumental in your professional development and ultimate financial success, please help us now with a generous financial contribution. There is no more important time to give than now and there is no more important investment you could be making in your profession than to give back to the school and program of which you can be proud. Consider making a gift to the department in honor today.
2024 Alumni Donation Letter Request [pdf]
Give online now to the OT Department
Have more questions? Contact the Alumni Association at 408-924-3070.
Recognition of the Amazing Donors to the SJSU Occupational Therapy Department
The faculty, staff and students of the Department of Occupational Therapy at San Jose State University wish to thank and recognize all of our esteemed alumni and donor friends who have contributed over the past year! We are grateful for your support and commitment. Your donations directly enrich and impact our department’s innovative programs of excellence in education, research and practice in occupational therapy and has been instrumental in continuing the academic excellence that is the San Jose State University Occupational Therapy Department.
Our Endowed “Diamond” Donors:
These donors have made a large endowed donation to support the OT department on an ongoing basis – this provides continuous support!
- Mary Booth created the Mary Booth Scholarships [pdf]
- Dr. Donald and Mrs. Donna Friedrich created the Wynn Schultz-Krohn Scholarships [pdf]
- Bonita Kraft created the Bonita Kraft Scholarship [pdf]
- Susan Robertson created the Occupational Therapy Professional Development Fund and in the process of funding the Susan Robertson Endowed Chair position.
List of Endowed Scholarships:
Testimonials of Student Scholarships
2022/23 Donors
We would also like to recognize each designated donor level from alums and supporters this year (2022/23).
Past Donors
Alumni Highlight
Alumni in the News
- Congratulations to Lecturer Alison George, graduate of SJSU with a masters of science degree from the OT Dept., who received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the recently held 2024 Occupational Therapy Association of California Conference in Pasadena, CA, in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the profession!
- Alumna Dr. Susan Robertson received the 2020 OTAC Award of Appreciation for long standing support to the profession! This is a great honor to see our very generous alum receive this award!
In Memoriam
Remembering and Honoring Lorraine Williams Pedretti
Class of 1964
On November 12, 2024, the Occupational Therapy profession has lost one of its legendary
pillars, Lorraine Williams Pedretti, a 1964 graduate of then San José State College.
Emeritus Professor Pedretti was a beloved SJSU OT Department faculty member from 1968-1994
and was the San Jose State University OT Distinguished Alumna of the Year for 2004.
We were fortunate to have such a stellar OT in our department history.
Lorraine pioneered publication of quality educational resources aimed at developing cutting-edge practice skills for occupational therapy with persons who have physical disabilities. She demonstrated influential leadership through the creation of one of the first (now 9th edition) and most highly regarded national/international textbooks devoted to occupational therapy for persons with physical disabilities – Pedretti’s Occupational Therapy: Practice Skills for Physical Dysfunction. Lorraine was also among the first to develop and publish cutting-edge educational resources including study-guides and multi-media self-paced learning modules thus improving the lives of those with physical disabilities through skilled OT.
She was nominated by Dr. Heidi Pendleton [pdf] for consideration to be one of the 100 most Influential people in Occupational Therapy's 100-year history and was selected and honored at the centennial Celebration at the AOTA Conference in Philadelphia 2017.
Remembering and Honoring Dr. Alice Kibele, SJSU
Class of 1965 (BS), 1986 (MS)
We also lost a dear former faculty and 1997 Distinguished Alumna this year (2024),
Dr. Alice Kibele, who made tremendous contributions to the profession and community
with her expertise in pediatric occupational therapy. She authored many articles and
given numerous professional presentations in her lifetime.
Remembering and Honoring Lois Marie Barber, OTR, FAOTA, SJSU
Class of 1952 by Dr. Heidi M. Pendleton
In late November 2022, the profession of Occupational Therapy lost a wonderful leader.
Lois Marie Barber, a 1952 graduate of then San Jose State College was the San Jose
State University OT Distinguished Alumna of the Year [pdf] for 2000. We were fortunate to have such a stellar OT in our department history.
Master OT practitioner, kind and patient teacher and mentor to hundreds, inventor,
entrepreneur, craftswoman, environmentalist, advocate for justice, philanthropist,
dog lover and rescuer, whale and dolphin watcher from her beautiful home overlooking
the Pacific in Shell Beach - Lois was an exemplar of living a life full of meaningful
occupation. Lois died after a brief illness surrounded by her many lifelong friends
and loving neighbors. I only wish that you all could have known her!
It was an honor to nominate Lois for consideration for the 100 Most Influential Occupational Therapy Leaders [pdf] of the last 100 Years. Though she eschewed drawing attention to herself she eventually relented and even expressed “it was kind of nice to be recognized”! Lois was unanimously selected and was honored at the Centennial Celebration at the AOTA Conference in Philadelphia 2017.
(Broad Street Pump Award from Physicians for Social Responsibility - one of Lois's award for her environmental and peace activism featured in OT Week article [pdf] from December 17, 1992 and prs.org)
Remembering Susan J. Harris
Susan J. Harris, an esteemed colleague and SJSU Alum, passed away on January 20, 2020.
For those who have not heard of Sue Harris, she was one of the first OTs to start
an OT company and it grew into an amazing company. She was a big advocate for OTs
having a voice in the political arena and always supported the OTACPAC. She was also
named the 2008 SJSU OT Dept. Distinguished Alumni and was one of our Diamond Level
Donors. And in 2018 at the OTAC Conference, Susan Harris was the honoree for the Lifetime
Achievement Award. Here's Susan J. Harris Obituary.
Keep in Touch!
Let us know how you are doing and Keep in Touch [pdf].
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with the latest news, accolades and events at our department!
