Outstanding Teacher — Robert Jensen

Robert Jensen

Robert Jensen is the kind of teacher that students like to recommend to their friends. The recipient of the College of Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies 2004-2005 Outstanding Teaching Award has an uncomplicated approach to education, which is acknowledged by his students as well as his fellow professors.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by students and especially colleagues who are just as deserving,” the psychology professor says. Jensen has developed his teaching philosophy with hands-on learning methods that submerge students in the theories of psychology. Jensen believes it’s this kind of learning that is paramount in his students’ ability to understand the odyssey taken by human thought and action.

“In all of the classes I teach I emphasize learning through activities,” he says. “I’ve tried to be sure that people leave my classroom more confident in their skills as learners.” Jensen has had a respectable amount of time to see the fruits of his teaching philosophy during the 32 years he has spent in front of a classroom here at Sacramento State.

Starting in 1973, Jensen took a first step forward when he realized the potential of classroom dynamics. “What I really started to like was seeing people interact in the classroom and the give and take relationship that I had built with them,” he says. “Experiencing that was great and I began to get a real sense of the self-reflection that students develop from it.”

The fall schedule has Jensen teaching an introductory psychology class as well as a capstone course for psychology majors. Although it’s not rare for professors to handle such a task, Jensen finds it particularly fulfilling to see both ends of the educational ladder. “I consider myself lucky because I get to work with the new freshmen and the experienced seniors. It’s fascinating to be able to see the development that these students go through,” he says.

Though Jensen projects a thoughtful, laid-back manner, his classes are rigorous and challenging, as students can tell you. “I’m a hard teacher,” he admits. “The nature of psychology demands you to evaluate and ask ‘Why?’ People have to comprehend the material rather than just merely memorize it.”

While having dedicated three decades of his life to the University, he has also enjoyed life outside the classroom. With his wife Anne and his 12-year-old son Andy, he travels widely, enjoys swimming, hiking and relaxing at places like Catalina Island. On weekends and a bit closer to home, you can find Jensen and his son exploring the mysteries of Sailor Bar and the rush of the San Juan Rapids along the South Fork of the American River.

Jensen is also an avid amateur photographer and has taken pictures and exhibited throughout the world. His Amador Hall office contains a modest collection of his work from destinations as far away as Portugal and Russia.

Jensen’s impressive tenure at Sacramento State will soon be slowing to a leisurely pace. The professor will be retiring from his full-time faculty position after the spring 2006 semester in order to spend more time with his family. However, Jensen will remain a part of the Sacramento State family and continue to teach on a part-time basis.