David Jensen, a beloved member of the Washburn faculty with a rich history on campus and in the community, passed away March 21.

Jensen lived in Benton Hall for a time while he attended Washburn in the 1970s, when the building was a dormitory. His office was most recently located in the same building, where he later acted as the practicum coordinator for the social work department.

Jensen taught at Washburn for about 30 years in the criminal justice, human service and social work departments. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Washburn University in psychology and corrections in 1974 and a master’s of social work degree in 1978 from the University of Kansas School of Medicine.

Kasey Paez, a senior social work major, has grown as a social work student because of the classes she has taken with Jensen.

“He is a very sweet, gentle guy,” Paez said. “He is always willing to help after class. He is very compassionate.”

Bassima Schbley, interim social work department chair, described the breadth of Jensen’s knowledge that he brought into the classroom. She said that he had a way of teaching students difficult topics in a way that was very easy and very real.

“[He is] the most gentle human being you can probably encounter … He understood life, he understood cultures, he was just non-judgemental all the time,” Schbley said. “He helped our program maintain a very high clinical quality nationwide.”

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Schbley said that losing Jensen has been especially difficult for the department simply because he was such an outstanding individual. She says students, faculty and everyone who encountered him loved him.

“It would have been easier for us, all of us in the department, if David had done something negative once; he hasn’t,” Schbley said.

Steve Spyres, director of field practice in the social work department, described Jensen’s extensive reach within the social work field.

“He had extensive relationships with social workers all over the region, many of whom he taught when they were in the social work program,” Spyres said.

Senior social work major Becky Mauer reflected on her experiences with Jensen. She said Jensen took a great amount of care in helping her select the practicum that was right for her. Instead of just assigning her to a random placement, he went above and beyond to ensure that her placement put her on track to become the social worker she wants to be.

“As a social worker, part of that responsibility is to model certain behaviors. I feel like he did that with modeling strength and dedication [and a] drive to succeed. He was a great role model, especially for students,” Mauer said.

Carolyn Szafran, social work department field practicum coordinator, spoke highly of Jensen as a friend and colleague.

“David is the most caring, compassionate and competent social worker, colleague and friend I’ve known. He will be greatly missed,” Szafran said.

Dan Petersen, professor of social work said, “David was an enormously gentle and caring individual. He not only had knowledge, but he had the wisdom to translate it into practice and share that with others.”

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A memorial service to celebrate Jensen’s life has been scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, March 31 at the Bradbury Thompson Alumni Center.