John Holland, professor emeritus in the Department of Sociology
in the Krieger School, died on
Nov. 27. He was 89.
Holland made a career out of studying the world of
work, pioneering the theory that if people
were aware of their personality type or combination of
types — realistic, investigative, artistic, social,
enterprising or conventional — then they would be
happier workers. His studies laid the foundation for
the field of career counseling, according to Mark Presnell,
director of the
Career Center on the Homewood campus.
"Dr. Holland's theory and related research defined
career counseling and interest assessment
as practiced today," Presnell said. "His work is utilized
daily by many career counselors in academia,
government and private practice. As a graduate student, I
had the opportunity to meet Dr. Holland. In
addition to being a brilliant academic, he was a warm
individual who was willing to share his knowledge
with new professionals."
Holland applied his "Theory of Vocational Personality
Types" to both people and the workplace.
The theory formed the basis for his renowned Self-Directed
Search, an assessment designed to help
people make educational and career decisions based on their
interests. By answering yes or no to
statements like "I understand the 'Big Bang' theory of the
universe" and "I can refinish furniture or
woodwork," he determined, workers could identify their
strengths and weaknesses and size up the
right career.
"The techniques are childlike they're so simple,"
Holland told The Gazette in 1997. "Some
scientists think that because this is so easy to
understand, it can't amount to anything. In science
there is often a sales mission, though people don't like to
admit that. In fact, anybody can get this
message if they want it." Describing his own makeup of
artistic, social and investigative components,
Holland said, "I've got a relatively flat profile,
actually. That makes you more versatile, complex and
quite a bit confused."
Though he retired in 1980, Holland kept working on his
research. In 1997, he revised a third
edition of his 1959 book, Making Vocational Choices: A
Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work
Environments.
In its newsletter published last week, the National
Association of Colleges and Employers noted
that during his career, Holland earned many accolades,
including the American Psychological
Association's Award for Distinguished Scientific
Applications of Psychology, the APA's Award for
Distinguished Professional Contributions to Knowledge and
the Extended Research Award from the
American Counseling Association.
Holland was born in Omaha, Neb., where in 1942 he
earned his bachelor's degree in psychology,
French and mathematics at the University of Omaha. He
received his doctorate in psychology from
the University of Minnesota. Holland arrived at Johns
Hopkins in 1969 and served as a professor and
director of the Center
for Social Organization of Schools before his
"quasi-retirement."
Holland is survived by his children, Kay Sindoni, Joan
Holland and Robert Holland; his
grandchildren, Bianca and Joey Sindoni and Ted, Eric and
Lisa Samuels; and his brother and sister,
Dick and Jean Holland. He was predeceased by his wife,
Elsie, and his brother, Bill Holland. Services
were held Dec. 13.
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