In a letter to the Forest community it was announced today (10/12/2011) that Dr. Jennifer Baker will take on the role of Director of the Robert J. Murney Clinic as Dr. Robert King moves to a new position in his professional career.
Below is the letter sent on behalf of Forest President, Dr. Mark Skrade.
Dear Forest community,
As always, when we say
goodbye to one of our outstanding community members, we do so with mixed
emotions. Such is the case with Dr. Robert King. Dr. King has
contributed much to the local, state and national communities during his time
with Forest and we are grateful for his outstanding service and leadership. Dr.
King has accepted a position with the Mercy Health System in Springfield as a
clinical psychologist and will leave his post as the Director of the Robert J.
Murney Clinic.
Dr. King graduated from
Forest with his Psy.D and completed his internship at RJMC. When Dr.
Murney retired in 2004, Dr. King followed in his mentor’s steps and assumed the
directorship of the clinic. During his tenure as director, he and Dr.
AnneElise Parkhurst worked together to facilitate the process of APA
accreditation for the internship positions at the clinic. Dr. King has
overseen many improvements and changes at the clinic in the last seven years
and we have benefitted from his leadership.
The list of Dr. King’s
contributions and accomplishments is long. Robert has been a teacher,
supervisor, mentor, author, consultant, practitioner, community partner and
community advocate. Dr. King has served on the SW MO NAACP, NAMI SW MO
and other professional and community boards. I am sure that his
commitment to the greater good of Springfield will continue as he assumes his
new post.
Please join me in
congratulating Dr. King for all of his contributions and accomplishments while
at Forest. We are confident that he will continue his excellent work and
enrich the lives of many more in our community!
In addition,
please join me in congratulating Dr. Jennifer Baker, Vice President of the
Center for Innovation and Community Health. With the departure of Dr. King, Dr.
Jennifer Baker will assume responsibility for oversight and administration of
the Robert J. Murney Clinic. Prior to moving to Missouri in 1998, Dr. Baker successfully
developed and supervised two different counseling centers in northern Illinois,
where she hired and supervised additional staff.
Dr. Baker
directed the Marriage and Family Therapy Program at Forest from 2000-2009,
while leading it to become the first fully accredited MFT program in Missouri.
During this time, Dr. Baker also wrote and directed the Child Welfare Training
Project grant, a $2.1 million project awarded to Forest Institute, from 2003 to
2008 and the Operation Us, a $5.2 million project awarded to Forest Institute
from 2006-2011. More recently, Dr. Baker has assumed responsibility for the
Continuation Education at Forest where she initiated the "Fridays @ Forest”
format, the Mental Health and Corrections Conference, and Grant Development and
Administration.
In her oversight of the Murney Clinic, Dr. Baker will bring
skills of leadership, collaboration and innovation. She will work hand in hand
with Dr. Porter to ensure a training environment that continues to provide
exceptional service to the community while emphasizing evidence-based therapies
and clinical research. Finally, she will look to ways to expand clinic services
to more fully address the needs of the community.
Sincerely,
Dr. Mark Skrade