Community and Therapeutic Recreation

Stuart J. Schleien, Ph.D., LRT/CTRS, CPRP
Professor, Department Chair, and Director of Graduate Study

Stuart J. Schleien, Ph.D, LRT/CTRS, CPRP, is a Professor, Chair, and Director of Graduate Study in the Department of Community and Therapeutic Recreation at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro since 1997.  Dr. Schleien has made a significant impact on recreation/leisure and physical activity programming in the United States and throughout the world.  As a Licensed Recreational Therapist and Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, he has developed best practices that have helped parents and professionals design inclusive recreation, physical activity, friendship, and volunteer programs for children and adults with diverse skills and abilities.  He has specific expertise as a systems change agent for inclusive service delivery, helping agencies manage successful organizational change and development.  Dr. Schleien has published extensively on recreation and friendship skills development and the social inclusion of individuals with disabilities.  He has written seven books and over 125 journal articles and book chapters on these topics.  He has presented his work throughout the U.S. and Canada, and in Australia, England, Germany, Israel, Spain, and Sweden.  He recently received the 2010 Marina Wilder Distinguished Service Award and the 2008 Victor Hall Leadership Award from The Arc of Greensboro for exemplary leadership in the field of developmental disabilities.  He was also recognized as the "Researcher of the Year" by the Minnesota Recreation and Park Association, "Educator of the Year" by the Minnesota Association for Retarded Citizens, and was the recipient of the "Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Recreation and Park Research," the most prestigious award bestowed upon a researcher by the National Recreation and Park Association.  Dr. Schleien made a keynote address to a world audience before the 5th Paralympic Scientific Congress for the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games, a keynote address at the Lund University (Sweden) 2003 Conference on Inclusive Communities, a presentation at the Sweden Paralympic Games in Stockholm in October 2003, and a keynote address at an International Seminar in Madrid, Spain in November, 2008.