PEWAUKEE, WI, May 12, 2014 — Don Kirkpatrick, best known for creating a highly influential ‘four level’ model for training course evaluation used industry-wide for more than 50 years, passed away at age 90.

He was a luminary in the training and development industry and his four levels of training evaluation created in the 1950s became the industry standard for measuring the impact of training programs.

Dr. Kirkpatrick’s four-level model, often referred to as the Kirkpatrick Model, was the subject of his dissertation in 1954. In 1959, his ideas were published in a series of articles in the US Training and Development Journal. In 1994, he published his first book on the model entitled “Evaluating Training Programs.” He went on to publish seven more books. He remained in academia for most of his professional career until retiring in 1986.

His work is carried on by his son, Jim, and daughter-in-law, Wendy, through their company, Kirkpatrick Partners.

Kirkpatrick completed his B.A., M.B.A, and Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin, and was a past President of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). He was honored with many awards, including the ASTD Lifetime Achievement Award, ASTD Legend in Training and Development, ASTD Gordon M. Bliss Award and Training Magazine Hall of Fame membership. Kirkpatrick was also proud to be a U.S. Army veteran who served during World War II.