Victim Researcher Profile

BIO

Dr. Dan Petersen is a professor in the Social Work department at Washburn University. He began his professional career working with individuals with development and cognitive disabilities after completing his bachelor degree. Prior to graduate school he presented nationally on the subject of client rights. Dr. Petersen graduated from the University of Kansas in 1981 with a doctorate and applied focus on behavior analysis. He moved to Montana and was hired as associate director of the Montana University Affiliated Program for Development Disabilities. In 1981 he became director/chair of the Human Services program at Montana State at Billings (formerly Eastern Montana College). During this time he consulted nationally with a variety of service programs related to severe aberrant behavior. Dr. Petersen returned to Kansas in the late 1980s where he served as the clinical director for the Kansas Neurological Institute. He then took an associate dean position at Washburn University. Dr. Petersen was a founding member of the Joint Center on Violence and Victim Studies (JCVVS), a founding member of the American Society of Victimology (ASV), and a senior faculty member of the National Victim Assistance Academy, Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Dr. Petersen was instrumental in writing the first OVC, USDOJ grants to fund the first two national training conferences on the victimization of persons with disabilities. Dr. Petersen served as a member of both of the National Victim Assistance Standards Consortiums which developed ethical and program standards for the field of victim services. He also has been and continues to be a contributor to the Victim Assistance Training (VAT) online program (OVC, USDOJ) as a module developer and subject matter expert. Currently, Dr. Petersen is a professor in the social work department at Washburn University where he teaches graduate courses in clinical practice with trauma clients and psychopharmacology.

VICTIMIZATION FOCUS

Bullying, Campus Sexual Assault, Terrorism and Mass Violence, Trafficking in Persons, Vicarious Trauma, Psychological and biological impact of trauma

SPECIAL POPULATIONS

RESEARCH EXPERTISE

Action research, Community-based participatory research, Data collection, Descriptive studies, Ethnography, Needs assessment, Program evaluation, Qualitative studies, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies, Randomized controlled trial, Training and/or technical assistance

VICTIM RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Data collection, Descriptive studies, Needs assessment, Program evaluation, Qualitative studies, Quantitative studies, Quasi-experimental studies