November 01, 2006
Flowers elected president of national rehabilitation group
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- The National Rehabilitation Association will install Carl R. Flowers, associate professor in Southern Illinois University Carbondale's Rehabilitation Institute, as president of the 80-year-old organization during its national conference Nov. 9-12 in Orlando, Fla. Flowers, chosen last year as president elect, will serve a one-year term beginning in January.
A member of the association since 1992, Flowers has served on its national board over the last several years and has led such divisions as the National Association of Multicultural Rehabilitation Concerns and the National Rehabilitation Counseling Association.
As president, Flowers will represent the association, serve as its spokesman and update state chapters on the group and its goals. He also will develop and implement a marketing plan aimed at turning around a declining membership and increasing non-dues revenues.
Flowers came to SIUC from his native St. Louis as an undergraduate transfer student in 1972, graduating in 1975 and then working for a while at Sears, Roebuck and Co. as a retail manager. When he decided to change careers in 1983, he returned to SIUC and graduated two years later with a master's in rehabilitation.
Beginning in 1987, he served in various units of the University, including Career Services and the Rehabilitation Institute. Along the way, he managed to fit in some doctoral coursework; he received his doctorate from SIUC in 1993.
In 2002, he moved to Washington state. After a yearlong stint at Western Washington University as director of its Rehabilitation Continuing Education Program, he returned to SIUC, where in addition to teaching and research, he coordinates the institute's rehabilitation administration and services program.
Leading in research, scholarly and creative activities is among the goals of Southern at 150: Building Excellence Through Commitment, the blueprint the University is following as it approaches its 150th anniversary in 2019.
Carl R. Flowers
Download Photo Here