Not only has Jodie Hanzlik had a profound impact on the Colorado State University Department of Occupational Therapy, but she left an indelible mark on the University through her leadership roles in the Graduate School. Hanzlik served as a faculty member and then department head in the OT department from 1984-2007 before eventually joining the Graduate School as associate dean, and then dean from 2007-2017.
Hanzlik is being honored by the College of Health and Human Sciences Legacies Project for her outstanding contributions and leadership during her career at CSU.
“CSU is a better place because of Jodie Hanzlik’s leadership and dedication,” said Lise Youngblade, dean of the College of Health and Human Sciences. “Not only was she instrumental to the early success and reputation of the Department of Occupational Therapy, but in her leadership of the Graduate School, she went on to launch many programs that positively impacted graduate students at CSU.”
Personal background and early career
Hanzlik was born and raised in Beloit, Wisconsin. She attended the University of Wisconsin- Madison where she earned her Bachelor of Science in occupational therapy and her master’s in child and family studies. From there, she went on to earn her Ph.D. in child development from Iowa State University. She worked as a pediatric occupational therapist while earning her graduate degrees, honing her knowledge, and fostering her interest in working with infants and children, especially those with developmental disabilities.
Faculty roles at CSU
Hanzlik came to CSU in 1984, where she was a faculty member in the OT department under the leadership of then Department Head Ellie Gilfoyle. She was attracted to CSU OT because of its focus on research and the research requirements of the Master of Science, one of the limited number of departments that had such requirements at that time.
Hanzlik focused on research and teaching in her first 13 years at CSU. With the encouragement of Gilfoyle, she applied and was appointed department head in 1997 by Nancy Hartley, dean of the College at the time (now dean emerita). Hanzlik’s first day as department head was during the disastrous aftermath of the July 1997 flood on CSU’s campus which inundated the CSU Oval and many other buildings. The department had to move out of the Occupational Therapy Building for the cleanup. But Hanzlik had found her calling in higher education administration.
Throughout Hanzlik’s remarkable career, Hartley and Gilfoyle both served as her mentors and became dear friends and supported her in many ways over the years in the range of positions she held. “Nancy used to stop us and say, ‘Okay, I want you to put on your group hat now and think about this issue from a consensus-based vision, as opposed to thinking what’s best for you in your department,’” said Hanzlik. “Ellie was great in terms of teaching me to listen to people’s thoughts and concerns.”
Hartley said of Hanzlik, “She’s a consummate good listener, and that’s a skill that’s really important and a skill I really learned from her.”
Thriving OT department
Under Hanzlik’s leadership, the OT department earned several accolades. The department was the first one in the college to be acknowledged as a CSU Program of Research and Scholarly Excellence in 1999. A few years later, the department received the Colorado Commission on Higher Education Program of Excellence award that came with a $1.6 million grant. This allowed the department to integrate service learning into the curriculum, create the Occupational Therapy Garden, remodel the OT Building, and improve the quality of labs to enhance student learning.
In 1998, the American Occupational Therapy Association mandated that OT departments eliminate undergraduate programs from their curricula and create master’s programs as the entry-level degree into the profession. In 2000, under Hanzlik’s leadership, the department implemented its first entry-level master’s program and updated the post-professional master’s program. In 2005, Hanzlik engaged the OT faculty to discuss the idea of implementing the Occupational Therapy Doctorate as the new entry-level degree within the department, a sign of things to come as the OTD was launched in 2022
Academic exchange with Japan
In 2002 Hanzlik introduced a new project to support faculty cross-cultural awareness. Working with faculty from the OT department along with faculty from the Yamagata Prefectural University in Japan, she initiated an academic relationship between the two departments. The program is composed of student and faculty visits between the two campuses, sharing lectures of OT practice, research, and the respective cultures of the academic communities. The Yamagata exchange continues to this day with students and faculty heading to Japan last fall and the Yamagata students and faculty visiting CSU in Spring 2024.
National service and rankings
Along with the faculty, Hanzlik participated in and provided leadership on a range of committees for the American Occupational Therapy Association and the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. Hanzlik’s efforts supported the growth and development of theory and practice of the profession. Remarkably, the OT department has been ranked among the top ten OT programs in the nation by US News and World Report since the rankings began in 1998, due in part to Hanzlik’s advocacy and her efforts to get the word out about the impressive accomplishments and outcomes of the department.
In addition to national, state, and local OT service activities, she also participated in a wide range of advisory, editorial, and grant review boards and panels. She was acknowledged for her service through a number of awards. She was named an AOTA Fellow for her contributions as a researcher in the area of early intervention and her leadership in promoting pediatric occupational therapy. In 2022, Hanzlik was recognized with the “Friend of OT Award” by the Department of Occupational Therapy.
Graduate School leadership
In 2007, Hanzlik was selected as associate dean in the Graduate School at CSU. Later she was appointed as interim dean followed in 2012 by her appointment to associate vice provost of graduate affairs and dean of the Graduate School by then Provost and Executive Vice President Rick Miranda.
“She was a female leader at a time in CSU’s history where high-level administrative positions were dominated by men,” said Marla Roll, director of the Assistive Technology Resource Center in CSU’s OT department. “And therefore, she carved a leadership path for women to move into leadership roles.”
During Hanzlik’s tenure, the administrative side of the Graduate School grew with new responsibilities for the oversight of the Special Academic Units such as the Colorado School of Public Health, Cell and Molecular Biology, and the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology. Under her leadership, the Graduate School also undertook a range of new initiatives focused on enhancing the graduate student experience for domestic and international students alike.
Hanzlik led the Graduate School’s effort to support student diversity through the implementation of the Graduate Center for Diversity and Access. The Center offered a wide array of innovative student recruitment and retention programs created specifically for diverse students, to support their success and to serve as a resource for them in addition to their advisers and professors.
Another pride point for Hanzlik was increasing the number of diverse students in the Graduate School through National Science Foundation grants which supported over 100 students with full tuition and scholarships throughout their graduate programs over a multi-year period.
Hanzlik, along with her staff and university partners, was instrumental in initiating a wide array of programs contributing to student success. Some of the most effective included: the Graduate Student Research Showcase, Graduate Student and Post-Doctoral Professional Development Programs, Dissertation Writing Bootcamps, the Graduate Assistant Parental Leave Program, the Graduate Council Student Professional-Travel Award Program, full health care coverage for graduate teaching assistants, a post-doctoral fellow benefits package, and new GTA and GRA funding programs.
Active retirement
Hanzlik retired from CSU in 2017 and she and her husband, Louis, live in Fort Collins and enjoy the arts, traveling, entertaining and spending time with family, friends, and especially their adult children: Nate, Lauren, Max, and Charlie. In 2020, Hanzlik was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and continues to seek innovative treatments. She is actively involved serving as a friend and mentor to others diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
“I would like to thank my friends, colleagues, and students, staff, and collaborators across the university for supporting me over my 34 years at CSU,” said Hanzlik. “With your support and active participation in a variety of groups and committees, we’ve really been able to make some changes at CSU to support students.”
Hanzlik’s outstanding legacy of leadership is recognized through the College of Health and Human Sciences Legacies Project. To watch a video about Hanzlik and to make a gift in her honor, go to her Legacies webpage. Donations will go toward the Jodie Hanzlik Research Assistantship in Occupational Therapy to support research assistantships for Ph.D. students in the OT department. Hanzlik was honored at the Legacies and Leaders event on April 4, 2024.
About the Legacies Project
The College of Health and Human Sciences Legacies Project honors the personal and professional histories of former faculty, staff, and alumni of the College. The project has highlighted the achievements of our honorees and preserved their stories since 2012.
The Department of Occupational Therapy is part of CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.
