WEA Paul Petzoldt Leadership Award Winner 2009

 

Joel Meier is Professor Emeritus at both the University of Montana and Indiana University.  His academic specializations are outdoor leadership and wilderness management.  At Montana he held various academic positions ranging from Coordinator of the Recreation Management Degree Program to Associate Dean of the School of Forestry.  At Indiana he served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies.  He has been an active participant and leader in a number of professional organizations, including service as President of both the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD) and the American Association for Leisure and Recreation (AALR), as well as Vice President of Hostelling International - American Youth Hostels, Inc.  Special assignments and awards include service as Senior Fulbright Scholar at the University of Otago in New Zealand, consultant to the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sport, and Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage.  He is the recipient of the Luther Halsey Gulick Medal, the highest honor of AAHPERD for long and distinguished service to the profession.  He has also received the Honor Award from both AALR and AAHPERD, as well as the Julian Smith Award from the National Council on Outdoor Education, the J.B. Nash Scholar Award from AALR, and the Distinguished Colleague Award from the Society of Park and Recreation Educators.  He is a member of the Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, a Senior Fellow and former President of the American Leisure Academy, and a Charter Fellow and former Chair of the North American Society of Health Education, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance Professionals.  Meier has authored several books on outdoor leadership, has published numerous professional papers, and has been a presenter or keynote speaker at more than 100 state, district, national and international conferences and meetings.