See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/338179119

John D. Krumboltz (1928–2019)

Article in The Counseling Psychologist · December 2019

DOI: 10.1177/0011000019894696

CITATIONS READS

0 3,853

3 authors, including:

Teresa D LaFromboise Elizabeth Nutt Williams

Stanford University St. Mary's College of Maryland
73 PUBLICATIONS 6,112 CITATIONS 102 PUBLICATIONS 5,974 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Teresa D LaFromboise on 03 February 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

894696
research-article2019
TCPXXX10.1177/0011000019894696The Counseling PsychologistLaFromboise et al.

In Memoriam
The Counseling Psychologist
2019, Vol. 47(8) 1165­–1167
John D. Krumboltz © The Author(s) 2019
Article reuse guidelines:
(1928–2019) sagepub.com/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/0011000019894696
https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019894696
journals.sagepub.com/home/tcp

Teresa LaFromboise1 ,
Elizabeth Nutt Williams2, and Margo A. Jackson3

On May 1, 2019, John Krumboltz died at home in

Stanford, California. His influence on counseling
psychology was widespread. He emphasized the
importance of treating people with respect and
kindness while helping them take action to build
upon their strengths.
John was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where
he earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology
from Coe College. He earned a master’s in coun-
seling at Teachers College, Columbia University,
and subsequently worked as a counselor and
algebra teacher in Waterloo, Iowa. John then
earned his PhD in counseling and educational psychology from the
University of Minnesota and served in the U.S. Air Force as a research
psychologist. In 1961, after a brief tenure at Michigan State University, he
started working at Stanford University in the School of Education, where
he remained until his retirement in 2015.
John was a pathbreaking and highly decorated scientist. He was one of the
first psychologists to measure the therapeutic outcome of behavioral change.
Other key scholarly influences include the development of the social learning
theory of career decision making (Krumboltz, 1994b), construction and valida-
tion of the Career Beliefs Inventory (Krumboltz, 1994a), and development of

1StanfordUniversity, Stanford, CA, USA

2St.Mary’s College of Maryland, St Marys City, MD, USA
3Fordham University, The Bronx, NY, USA

Corresponding Author:
Teresa LaFromboise, Developmental and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of
Education, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-6104, USA.
Email: lafrom@stanford.edu
1166 The Counseling Psychologist 47(8)

the theory of planned happenstance (Krumboltz, 2009). John also worked on a

project called the Virtual Job Experience (Krumboltz, Babineaux, & Wientjes,
2010), a set of computer simulations representing a variety of occupations.
John authored and coauthored over 200 chapters, articles, reviews, mono-
graphs, and research reports. His books include Behavioral Counseling: Cases
and Techniques (Krumboltz & Thoresen, 1969), Changing Children’s Behavior
(Krumboltz & Krumboltz, 1972), Luck is no Accident: Making the Most of
Happenstance in Your Life and Career (Krumboltz & Levin, 2004), and in year
53 of his 55-year career, Fail Fast, Fail Often: How Losing Can Help You Win
(Babineaux & Krumboltz, 2014) which landed on Oprah’s list of best self-help
books (Newman, n. d.). In 1974–1975, John served as President of Division 17
of the American Psychological Association (APA) and as a member of the APA
Board of Professional Affairs. He served on numerous editorial boards and
received the APA Award for Distinguished Professional Contributions to
Knowledge in 2002 as well as the APA Division 17 Leona Tyler Award in 1990,
the highest award given in the field of counseling psychology.
John was always open to new and unexpected paths. He often shared the
following account of his career: Once John learned to ride a bicycle, he rode
down a new street. He met a kid who had a tennis racket, and they learned to
play tennis. John played varsity tennis in college. He liked the tennis coach,
who also taught psychology. When John asked what he should major in, the
coach said “psychology.” The rest is history (John remained an avid tennis
player for life).
Over many decades, John energetically contributed to building a robust
program in counseling psychology at Stanford University. John was known
for his ability to mentor students through their doctoral program. He was also
known for his keen analytic skills in conflict situations. Professor Dan
Schwartz, the current Dean of the Graduate School of Education at Stanford,
commented upon John’s behavior in faculty meetings: “On more than one
occasion, the faculty were trapped between two conceptual soapboxes. John
would raise his hand and make the missing point, which would suddenly feel
obvious. There was typically silence afterwards, because people could not
adjust their thinking fast enough. What I saw in John was fearless courage.”
John achieved international recognition through translations of his writ-
ings, experiential workshops, and speaking engagements around the world.
According to Betty Krumboltz, his wife of 30 years, “it was his joy to seek
and share knowledge with the purpose of improving the human condition
whenever possible. He was truly a lifelong learner and teacher.”
John inspired many of us as students and as colleagues with his ever-present
Midwestern sensibility—polite yet frank, he was provocative, playful, and
openly transparent in his faith in everyone’s capacity to grow and thrive. He
will be remembered for his good humor and always having a twinkle in his eye.
LaFromboise et al. 1167

ORCID iD
Teresa LaFromboise https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8301-6117

References
Babineaux, R., & Krumboltz, J. D. (2014). Fail fast, fail often: How losing can help
you win. New York, NY: Penguin Group.
Krumboltz, J. D. (1994a). The Career Beliefs Inventory. Journal of Counseling and
Development, 72, 424–428. doi:10.1002/j.1556-6676.1994.tb00962.x
Krumboltz, J. D. (1994b). Improving career development theory from a social learn-
ing theory perspective. In M. L. Savicas & R. W. Lent (Eds.), Convergence in
career development theory (pp. 9–32). Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists
Press.
Krumboltz, J. D. (2009). The happenstance learning theory. Journal of Career
Assessment, 17, 135–154. doi:10.1177/1069072708328861
Krumboltz, J. D., Babineaux, R., & Wientjes, G. (2010). Inspired to work. Journal of
Career Assessment, 18, 355–361. doi:10.1177/1069072710374496
Krumboltz, J. D., & Levin, A. S. (2004). Luck is no accident: Making the most of hap-
penstance in your life and career. Atascadero, CA: Impact.
Krumboltz, J. D., & Krumboltz, H. B. (1972). Changing children’s behavior. Kent,
OH: Prentice Hall.
Krumboltz, J. D., & Thoresen, C. E. (1969). Behavioral counseling: Cases and
Techniques. Oxford, England: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston.
Newman, L. (n. d.). Books every joy-seeking woman needs to read [Fail fast, fail
often by Baineaux & Krumboltz, 2014]. Retrieved from http://www.oprah.com/
book/Fail-Fast-Fail-Often?editors_pick_id=50273

Author Biographies
Teresa LaFromboise, PhD, is a professor in the Graduate School of Education at
Stanford University. Her current research is focused on the impact of ethnic identity,
involvement in language revitalization, bicultural integration, and perceived discrimi-
nation, on students’ academic motivation and psychological well-being.
Elizabeth Nutt Williams, PhD, a professor of psychology at St. Mary’s College of
Maryland, received her bachelors in psychology at Stanford University and her doc-
torate in counseling psychology at the University of Maryland. Her research is focused
on psychotherapy process and feminist multicultural counseling, as well as authentic
leadership and the role of serendipity in career development.
Margo A. Jackson, PhD, is a professor of counseling psychology at Fordham
University. She earned her doctorate at Stanford University. Her research, teaching,
and service are grounded in social justice advocacy. She focuses on methods to assess
and constructively address hidden biases and strengths, career development across the
lifespan, and ethical training in multicultural counseling and psychology.

View publication stats