Kenneth B. Hoyt-Visionary, Statesperson, Leader, Activist

Kenneth B. Hoyt passed away on August 27, 2008. He leaves a comprehensive legacy of insights and initiatives about the relationship of education and work, the importance of career development as a mission of schools, and the role of school counselors in these important processes. This article reviews Dr. Hoyt's 50-year-long body of work. Kenneth B. Hoyt, University Distinguished Professor of Counseling and Educational Psychology Emeritus at Kansas State University, passed away on August 27, 2008. He is among the long line of statespersons, visionaries, and activists who initiated and shaped the counseling profession in the United States during the latter half of the 20th century. Although Hoyt was concerned that all students have access to excellent school counseling, he was particularly committed to the development of programs of vocational guidance, career counseling, and career education for employment-bound high school students; effective techniques through which school counselors could help students to choose educational options and occupations (careers); and schools in which helping students with their career development was seen as one of the many missions, not simply a by-product of schooling. His career demonstrated a continuing commitment to promoting effective interactions between schools and workplaces, a fusion of teaching/learning and career development, increased attention to the transition of students from school to employment, and ensuring that "all students, especially those in technical and trade fields, experience the benefits of career guidance" (Reardon, 2005, p. vii). Hoyt was one of the most prolific writers and speakers in behalf of the counseling profession, particularly school counseling, in the 20th century. He was well prepared for his roles as a statesperson, an activist leader, and an advocate for the emphases in education and counseling he embraced. Following his service in the U.S. Army in World War II, he earned a bachelor of science degree in education from the University of Maryland in 1948, a master's degree in counseling and guidance from George Washington University in 1950, and a doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota in 1954. Equally important to his education about school counseling was his practical experience in schools and as a counselor. He first worked at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland, as a teacher and counselor providing guidance to students three periods a day, teaching chemistry and eighth-grade mathematics, serving as the school librarian, and coaching. Subsequently, he served as director of guidance at Westminster High School, Maryland Public Schools, where he taught one class in physics and was the counselor for 1,500 students. In 1950, he enrolled in the doctoral program in educational psychology at the University of Minnesota. After his 1st year, he became a full-time instructor, teaching graduate extension courses in guidance and counseling and consulting with high schools throughout Minnesota, helping them to develop their guidance programs (Engen, 2003). Several points are apparent in these years when Hoyt was serving as a school counselor and as a graduate student in counseling and guidance. He realized that school counseling was in its infancy, with only a partial foothold in the schools. The academic or clinical preparation of school counselors was minimal and done through an accumulation of courses on a part-time basis, not in a sequential, full-time program of counselor education. In his view, school counselors or, more exactly, teacher/counselors who were teaching academic classes for half of the school day and counseling students for the other half could not adequately serve the hundreds of students assigned to them for help. In his view, counselors needed to be in full-time positions and available when students needed them. Furthermore, he believed that all students, whether employment- or college- bound, needed help in identifying their options for academic or technical preparation and for work. …