Professor emeritus Karl K. Klein was born in Buffalo, New York, in 1916 and passed
away on October 31, 2003, in Ithaca, New York.
Professor Klein received his M.S. degree in 1951 from Ithaca College in New
York and his M.Ed. degree from Springfield College in Massachusetts in 1954.
Prior to this time, during World War II, his service in the military included
two years assisting in physical rehabilitation at the U.S. Naval Rehabilitation
Center in Corvallis, Oregon.
From 1946-1953, Professor Klein was the director of physical rehabilitation
at Ithaca College. From 1953-54, he was the instructor in charge of the physical
rehabilitation program at Springfield College.
In 1954 he came to The University of Texas at Austin as a specialist in physical
rehabilitation in the required physical education for men department. He evaluated
thousands of physically challenged students to determine if they could be successful
in one of the required physical activity classes. When it was possible, he
would assign students to one of these classes. For any students unable to participate
in one of these classes, Professor Klein would design a special physical activity
program in the rehabilitation gymnasium. He also taught courses in adapted
physical education, weight training, and the game of squash.
Professor Klein started and directed the Physical Rehabilitation Clinic in
Gregory Gymnasium, helping thousands of people from all walks of life. He was
a legend among hundreds of Austin runners who were very grateful for having
been “patched up” and shoved back out onto the very same streets
that first brought them knocking on his door. He was also “THE” authority
on knee injuries and rehabilitation. He always refused payment from people
he helped, instead asking that they donate to scholarship funds that he and
his wife, Marjorie, had established.
Professor Klein was one of the best known physical educators in the areas
of sports medicine, rehabilitation, corrective exercise, adapted physical education,
and physical medicine. The quality, importance, and quantity of his published
research made him well-recognized nationally and internationally as one of
the top authorities in his field. His research efforts exhibited the finest
clinically oriented undertakings in his specialty. His work was published in
leading professional journals, nationally and internationally, including
The
British Journal of Physical Medicine and
The American Journal of Surgery.
Several of his publications were also translated into Russian, German, and
Japanese. A major pride in his life was that, even though he was not a medical
doctor, he was often asked to present his work at national and international
medical conferences.
His work included federally-funded research related to sports injury prevention
programs, analysis of short leg syndrome, and studies that led to the prohibition
of deep knee bends in all branches of the military. His work was also recognized
by the American College of Sports Medicine, and one of his testing instruments,
the Klein Medial-Lateral Collateral Testing Instrument, is still on display
at the Smithsonian Institute (the National Museum of History and Technology)
in Washington, D.C.
Professor Klein wrote three books and had over 150 articles published in professional
journals. He also presented many invited lectures all over the world. He also
received many honors, including the Julian Vogel Award for Meritorious Service
and Life Membership and the International
Who’s Who in Education.In 1983, Professor Klein and his wife, Marjorie, established an endowed graduate
scholarship through the Texas Alumni Association. Each year, for over twenty
years, two well-deserving students have received scholarship money from this
special fund. His official career at UT spanned from 1954-1985, but he continued
to serve students, faculty, staff, and local citizens in his rehabilitation
facility for many years after his retirement. For almost fifty years, he was
fiercely dedicated to The University of Texas at Austin, giving willingly and
generously of his time in many ways.
Professor Karl K. Klein was appointed professor emeritus June 1, 1985.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee consisting of Professors
Charles Craven (chair), Pete Tyson, Waneen Spirduso, and Terry Todd.
