Dr. E. Robert Stephens
We received news last month that Dr. E. Robert (“Bob”) Stephens died peacefully on the morning of Feb. 9. For those not familiar with Bob Stephens, he wrote the original legislative language to create the AEAs in Iowa. He also served nationally on the Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA) Board. The AESA has three awards nationally that honor individuals, and one is named after Bob. (The AEA system also honors his legacy with an award named after him.) He was truly a champion for education, especially for educational service agencies and was relentless in his pursuit to serve students and staff. We’ve lost a giant in our field, and he will be missed.