Professor Robert Stensrud was awarded the Collier Baker Endowed Professorship, a four-year award that carries a stipend and research fund, by the Drake Board of Trustees on Oct. 7. He plans to use the award to continue research on the Clubhouse model of employment and training for special needs populations.
Stensrud is serving his 30th year as a professor in the Leadership and Counseling Department of the School of Education. He has served as department chair from 1991 to 1995, redesigning the counseling specializations that have become national accredited by two major governing boards. He was the director of the School of Education’s Collaborative Leadership in Education, which included the oversight of an $8 million budget. From 1989 to 1999, he was director of the National Rehabilitation Institute, and in 1994, he received the Outstanding Program Award from the U.S. Department of Education Rehab Services. Since coming to Drake, Stensrud has received $15.7 million to support the training of rehabilitation counselors, research on disability, and projects serving the Drake and Greater Des Moines communities. To date, he has written more than 60 refereed publications on disability, health care, and employment.
—Janet McMahill, School of Education