Professional School Counseling: Program Faculty

Rick Auger

Dr. Auger has been a faculty member in the Professional School Counseling program at MSU since 2000. Prior to coming to MSU he worked as a school psychologist for 14 years, in addition to working for a year as a clinical psychology predoctoral intern providing outpatient mental health services to children, adults, and families. Dr. Auger teaches an array of classes in the CSP department, including Group Counseling, Counseling Skills and Procedures I and II, and Mental Health in the Schools. Dr. Auger is a frequent presenter at state, regional, and national conferences, and has published articles in a number of national journals. His research interests center around children's mental health, children's career development, and school counseling issues. Dr. Auger is currently finishing a three-year term as editor of Professional School Counseling, the flagship journal of the American School Counselor Association.

Jennifer Pepperell

Before joining the school counseling faculty at MSU, Mankato, Jennifer received her undergraduate degree in psychology at Whittier College and her master's degree in counseling psychology at Avila University. Her primary clinical focus has been with children and adolescents, in both shelter and school settings. She completed her PhD at Oregon State University in Counselor Education and Supervision, her areas of research interest are related to girls, identity development, and other feminist issues.

Walter Roberts, Jr.

Dr. Roberts earned his Doctorate in Counselor Education from the University of Arkansas in 1992. Prior to coming to Minnesota State University Mankato in 1993, he served in secondary schools as a teacher and school counselor. He holds licenses and certifications as a Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC), Licensed School Counselor (LSC), National Certified Counselor (NCC), National Certified School Counselor (NCSC), and Approved Clinical Supervisor (ACS).

Dr. Roberts' primary research focus and practice at MSU Mankato has been in the areas of crisis intervention strategies and violence prevention among children and adolescents, particularly as it impacts the school setting in the form of bullying. He is the author of numerous professional journal articles and two books, Bullying from Both Sides and Working with Parents of Bullies and Victims. He is frequently requested nationally to consult and present on multiple counseling-related topics.

Dr. Roberts has decades of history devoted to public policy advocacy on behalf of the counseling profession at the state and national levels and is frequently asked to testify before legislative and judicial proceedings regarding children's mental health, school violence, bullying prevention, and access to mental health services for clientele. As testament to his impartiality, he is one of the few individuals in the country to be appointed by four governors (Clinton, Ventura, Pawlenty, and Dayton) of three different political parties in two states to serve on state boards in the areas of professional counseling and teacher education. Currently, Dr. Roberts is serving his fourth term on the Minnesota Board of Behavioral Health and Therapy. In 2012, he served as co-chair of the Governor's Task Force on the Prevention of School Bullying.

As a certified American Red Cross disaster mental health course instructor and responder, Dr. Roberts has been called to respond to national disasters across the country, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005), the wildfires in southern California (2007), and the floods in the Red River Valley of Minnesota and the Dakotas (2009). He and his therapy dogs, Murphy and Prairie, have visited schools, assisted living facilities, domestic violence shelters, and made Red Cross assistance visits throughout Minnesota.