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.
Stensrud says he will use the award to continue his research into professional opportunities for special needs populations. He focuses on the “Clubhouse Model” of employment and training, which is a rehabilitation program for those with severe mental illness that puts emphasis on participants’ strengths rather than their illness.
This is Stensrud’s 30th year as professor in the Leadership and Counseling Department of the School of Education. He was department chair from 1991 to 1995 and redesigned the department’s counseling specializations, which have been nationally accredited by two major governing boards. He has also been the director of the school’s Collaborative Leadership in Education program where he oversaw an $8 million budget. From 1989 to 1999, he served as director of the National Rehabilitation Institute. He won the Outstanding Program Award from the U.S. Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration in 1994.
From the beginning of his Drake career, Stensrud has been awarded $15.7 million in support of training for rehabilitation counselors, research on disability, and projects serving Drake and the surrounding communities. He has written over 60 refereed publications on disability, health care, and employment.