In the following biographical sketches, each member's name is followed by: (1) the year elected to the Academy (Founders were elected in 1980); (2) highest earned degree, degree-granting institution, and year granted; and (3) current or (if retired) last professional position and location.

In noting professional service and accomplishment, several organization titles are abbreviated as they occur frequently. Full titles are as follows:

DATTILO, JOHN. Elected 1995. PhD, Illinois. Professor, Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, The Pennsylvania State University.

John Dattilo is Head of the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Management at Pennsylvania State University. He teaches courses on leisure for people with disabilities, therapeutic recreation, and leisure education. His research examines effects of interventions designed to enhance self-determination of people with disabilities relative to leisure participation. He is author of Inclusive Leisure Services: Responding to the Rights of People with Disabilities (2nd edition), Facilitation Techniques in Therapeutic Recreation, Leisure Education Program Planning: A Systematic Approach (3rd edition), Leisure Education Specific Programs, and is co-author of Conceptual Foundations for Therapeutic Recreation and Behavior Modification in Therapeutic Recreation that are all published by Venture Publishing. He was awarded the G. Lawrence Rarick Research Award by the National Council for Physical Education and Recreation for People with Disabilities; the Professional Research Award by the National Therapeutic Recreation Society; and the University of Georgia’s College of Education Aderhold Distinguished Professor Award for Excellence in Teaching, Research and Service.

DEPPE, THEODORE R. Founder. Re.D., Indiana, 1953. Professor Emeritus, Recreation and Park Administration, Indiana.

Dr. "Ted" Deppe served on Indiana's faculty for 34 years and was Department Chair for 21 years. His primary interests in community recreation and recreation administration are reflected in many publications, including three authored or co-authored texts, the most recent of which was Management Strategies for Financing Parks and Recreation. Dr. Deppe is Founding Co-Editor of the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration and a Founder of AAPRA. He is a Past-President of SPRE, College Recreation Association, and Indiana Park and Recreation Association, and former member of NRPA's Board of Trustees. Along with several awards from the Indiana association, he received a Senior Fulbright Award for work and study in New Zealand, and SPRE's Distinguished Fellow Award.

DITTON, ROBERT B. Elected 1984. Ph.D., Illinois, 1969. Professor, Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M, retired.

Dr. Ditton was the first to specialize in outdoor recreation research in coastal and marine settings. He now focuses on the human dimensions of fisheries. He was a Sea Grant researcher for 20 years, and developed a graduate program in marine recreation resources management in the Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M. Along with numerous research articles and reports, he co-authored the book, Coastal Resources Management. He served five years as Editor of Leisure Sciences and, also, as Associate Editor of Leisure Sciences, the Journal of Leisure Research, and Coastal Zone Management. Dr. Ditton has served on federal advisory committees on marine fisheries, outer continental shelf policy, national coastal resources, and artificial reefs. He has completed assignments with the U.S. Minerals Management Service and was a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Offshore Platform Removal. Awards he has received include the Brightbill Award and Sapora Research Award from the University of Illinois, NRPA's National Research (Roosevelt) Award, and SUNY Cortland's Metcalf Lecture and Distinguished Alumnus Award.

DRIVER, BEVERLY L. Elected 1984. Ph.D., Michigan, 1968. Formerly Research Forester, USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station; Retired August, 1997 and now a Consultant on Park and Recreation Resource Management.

Dr. Driver's principal research interest was identifying and quantifying consequences of leisure activities deemed desirable and beneficial by individual participants and by society. He played a lead role in developing four recreation resource management systems that have received wide application, and still devotes much time to the practical application of results of leisure studies, especially as it supports the Benefits/Outcomes Approach to managing recreation resources. Dr. Driver was a tenured faculty on The University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources, was a visiting lecturer in Yale's School of Forestry and Environmental Studies of Yale, and currently holds faculty affiliate appointments at Colorado State University and the University of Wyoming. He has received NRPA's National Research (Roosevelt) Award, USDA's Superior Service Award, the US Forest Service's Superior and Distinguished Science Awards, awards from six universities, and other awards. He is a past President of the Academy. He has authored or co-authored over 140 scientific publications, including being editor or co-editor of five texts, and has traveled professionally in about 38 different countries.

DUNN, DIANA R. Founder. Ph.D., Penn State, 1970. Professor Emeritus, Recreation and Park Management, Penn State.

Dr. Dunn's research interests include 21st Century Leisure and Learning (distance education), urban recreation andopen space, recreation and social organization, international leisure perspectives, and leisure trends and forecasting. Currently Professor at Penn State-University Park, she previously served as Vice-Provost, Acting Associate Dean and Dean of the Faculty at Penn State Harrisburg; Professor and Dean of the College of Health, Physical Education and Recreation at Penn State; Professor and Head of Exercise and Sport Science at the University of Arizona; and Professor of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Temple University. She served as Director of Research at NRPA; Research Analyst, U.S. General Accounting Office; and Recreation Analyst, U.S. Department of the Interior. She has served as Managing, Associate, or Consulting Editor for the Journal of Leisure Research, Leisure Sciences, LeisureStudies, Parks and Recreation, the Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and others. She is a Past-President of the Academy, and of AALR, member of the board of AAPRA, and former Chair of the NRPA/AALR Council on Accreditation. Dr. Dunn has received Honor Awards from AALR and AAHPERD, the Jay B. Nash Scholar Lecture Award from AALR, SPRE's Distinguished Fellow award, and others.

DUSTIN, DANIEL L. Elected 1990. Ph.D., Minnesota 1977. Professor and Chair, University of Utah.

Dr. Dustin's main academic interests center on environmental stewardship and the moral and ethical bases for leisure and recreation activity preferences and behaviors. A past president of the Society of Park and Recreation Educators and a recipient of NRPA's National Literary Award, he was named an "honorary lifetime member" of the California Park Rangers Association in 1994 for his contributions to the literature of outdoor recreation resource management and planning. Wilderness in America: Personal Perspectives, Beyond Promotion and Tenure: On Being a Professor, For the Good of the Order: Administering Academic Programs in Higher Education, The Wilderness Within: Reflections on Leisure and Life (Third Edition), Stewards of Access/Custodians of Choice: A Philosophical Foundation for the Park and Recreation Profession (Third Edition), Nature and the Human Spirit: Toward an Expanded Land Management Ethic (co-edited with B. L. Driver and George Peterson), and Making a Difference in Academic Life: a Handbook for Park, Recreation, and Tourism Educators and Graduate Students (co-edited with Tom Goodale) are among his recent works as a contributing author and editor.

Dr. Dwyer directs a research project that develops guides for the management of forests to serve the needs of the urban population, particularly recreation, aesthetics, and environmental quality. His personal research focuses on predicting recreation choices, as well as identifying the leisure needs of urban racial/ethnic minority groups. He heads up the urban forestry working group in the International Union of Forestry Researchers, is on the editorial board of the Journal of Leisure Research and Illinois Arboriculture, and serves on the National Urban Forest Council and the Illinois Urban Forest Council. Dr. Dwyer is past chair of the urban forestry working group, Society of American Foresters; Secretary-Treasurer of the Illinois Arborist Association; and member of the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Arboriculture and Leisure Sciences.

Christopher R. Edginton is Secretary General of World Leisure, a non-governmental organization in consultative status with the United Nations. Also, he serves as the Professor and Director of the School of Health, Physical Education and Leisure Services at the University of Northern Iowa. He has authored over 200 articles and 26 books, including Leisure and Life Satisfaction: Foundational Perspectives, Youth Work: Emerging Perspectives in Youth Development, Leadership for Recreation, Parks and Leisure Services, and Leisure Programming: A Service Centered and Benefits Approach. Dr. Edginton is the Founder of Camp Adventure Youth Services: an award-winning service learning program operating in over 20 countries, serving 750,000 children and youth on an annual basis. He has served as editor for and/or member of the editorial/policy making boards of the Journal of Physical Education, Recreation and Dance; Humanics: The Journal of Leadership for Youth and Human Services; Journal of Park and Recreation Administration; Recreation Canada; and Leisure Today. Dr. Edginton has received numerous awards, including Distinguished Fellow Award, Society of Park and Educators (1989); J.B. Nash Scholar Award, American Association for Leisure and Recreation (1998); National Literary Award, National Recreation and Park Association (2000); Honor Award, American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (2001); Biennial Distinguished Scholar Award, International Council for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, Sport and Dance (2002); R. Tait McKinzie Award, American Alliance of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (2003); and the Charles K. Brightbill Alumnus Award (2004). He is also a member of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration (1993) and the American Leisure Academy (1997).

Gary Ellis is Head of the Department of RPTS at Texas A&M University. Prior to that he was professor and chair of the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism at the University of Utah. His research interests lie primarily in measurement and in engineering experiences. He founded the Western Laboratory for Leisure Research at the University of Utah and has authored over 70 publications related to measurement and recreation. He has served on the editorial boards of Journal of Leisure Research, Therapeutic Recreation Journal, Leisure Today, and Schole. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Society of Park and Recreation Educators and has received numerous awards, including the National Therapeutic Recreation Society's "Professional Research Award" and the Utah Parks and Recreation Association's "Service to the Profession Award."

Dr. Ellis was a Founder of the Play Research Lab, University of Illinois, that formed one of the research bases from which the current Leisure Behavior Research Lab was created. From the program of research conducted in that lab Ellis wrote two books. The first, Why People Play, was a follow-up of Mitchell and Sapora's classic text, Play and Recreation. The second was a monograph entitled Activity and Play of Children. Dr. Ellis then entered university administration, first at Dalhousie University (Canada) where he was instrumental in establishing undergraduate and graduate leisure studies degrees and the Recreation Council for the Disabled in Nova Scotia. This advocacy organization coordinated the efforts of existing disability groups and organizations and became the model for Canada. Before returning to Illinois, Dr. Ellis served 11 years as Professor of Leisure Studies and Services and Dean of Physical Education and Human Movement Studies at Oregon. He has received the Brightbill Award from Illinois and the Oregon Legislature's Faculty Excellence Award, among others.

Alan Ewert is a Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies, in the School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, at Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. He also serves as the Patricia and Joel Meier Endowed Chair of Outdoor Leadership and is a member of the Distinguished and Ranked Professors at Indiana University.  Prior to this, he was a Professor and Program Chair in the Resource Recreation and Tourism Program at the University of Northern British Columbia, and the Branch Chief of Recreation, Wilderness and Urban Forestry Research and Supervisory Research Scientist with the USDA Forest Service. His books include Outdoor Adventure Pursuits: Foundations, Models and Theories; Culture, Conflict in the Wildland-Urban Interface (co-editor); Natural Resource Management: The Human Dimension and Outdoor Education: Methods and Strategies. He has written over 175 papers concerning issues related to various aspect of recreation, outdoor leadership, climate change, and natural resources. His research interests include recreation use patterns, motivations for participation in recreation and park-related activities, visitor behaviors, the development of environmental attitudes and behaviors and the relationship between levels of resiliency and participation in outdoor adventure recreation. Dr. Ewert has received numerous awards including the J.B. Nash Scholar Award (AALR),  the Julian Smith Award (AAPHERD), and the Reynold E. Carlson Award.  He has also been awarded a Fullbright Senior Scholarship and is past Editor of the Journal of Environmental Education and one of the founding Executive Editors of the International Wilderness Journal. 

Don Field's research interests include human ecological patterns associated with natural resources in community-regional or landscape systems. Emphasis in these systems is directed at the relationship of parks and protected areas to adjacent land use patterns. Don has been a leader in demonstrating the relationship between the social and biological sciences and their connection within interdisciplinary research projects. He has served ten years as Regional Chief Scientist and Associate Regional Director of Science, Pacific Northwest Region, National Park Service. Don has also served nine years as Associate Dean, College of Agricultural and Life Sciences and Associate Director of the Wisconsin Agriculture Experiment Station and Director of the School of Natural Resources, all at the University of Wisconsin. In between, he has served as a professor in forestry at the University of Washington and Oregon State University. He has authored or co-authored numerous articles for such journals as Rural Sociology, Water Resources, Journal of Leisure Research, Leisure Sciences, and Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, and has written or co-edited 10 books, including Rural Sociology and the Environment, Community and Forestry, On Interpretation and National Parks, and Rural Development. Don is the co-founding Editor of Society and Natural Resources, was co-editor of Leisure Sciences, and Associate Editor of the Journal of Leisure Research. His awards include Meritorious Service from the Department of Interior, Award of Merit from the Rural Sociological Society's Natural Resources Research Group, NRPA's National Research (Roosevelt) Award, and a Senior Scholar Fulbright award to Australia.

FINE, GARY ALAN. Elected 2008. Ph.D., Harvard University, 1976. Professor, Department of Sociology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois.

Gary Alan Fine is the John Evans Professor of Sociology at Northwestern University. He is received his Ph.D. in social psychology from Harvard University in 1976 from the Department of Psychology and Social Relations. For thirty-five years he has conducted ethnographic research on numerous leisure groups, including Little League baseball (With the Boys: Little League Baseball and Preadolescent Culture, the recipient of the Opie Award from the American Folklore Society), fantasy role-play gaming (Shared Fantasy: Role-Playing Games as Social Worlds), mushroom collecting (Morel Tales: The Culture of Mushrooming; the recipient of the Charles Horton Cooley Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction), high school debate (Gifted Tongues: High-School Debate and Adolescent Culture), and folk art collecting (Everyday Genius: Self-Taught Art and the Culture of Authenticity). His current research is on competitive chess as a social world. He has served as the president of the Association for the Study of Play, the Society for the Study of Social Problems, and the Midwest Sociological Society, and currently serves as the editor of Social Psychology Quarterly. He received the George Herbert Mead Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction.

In addition to his terminal degree from Texas A&M, Myron Floyd earned BS and MS degrees in parks, recreation, and tourism management from Clemson University. He has served on the faculty of Clemson University, Texas A&M University, and the University of Florida. His professional experience includes interpretation and visitor services with the National Park Service and South Carolina State Parks. Dr. Floyd teaches primarily in the areas of research methods and evaluation, park management, and human dimensions of natural resources. His research focuses on understanding how race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status affect leisure activity preferences, use of parks and protected areas, and environmental preference. He is currently leading two related projects: a study of physical environmental influences on physical activity in neighborhood parks and an evaluation of environmental interventions to promote use of urban trails. Floyd’s research has been published widely in journals such as Leisure Sciences, Journal of Leisure Research, Journal of Environmental Management, Environment and Behavior, and Human Ecology Review. His research has been supported by grants from public and private research sponsors, including the USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, US Army Corps of Engineers and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. He received NRPA's Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award in 2008.

Dr. Godbey has authored or co-authored eight books and approximately one hundred articles dealing with leisure behavior, history and philosophies of leisure, leisure service organizations, and the future of leisure and leisure services. He has been President of SPRE and President of the Academy, and has testified before committees of the US Senate and Presidential commissions. Godbey has won the National Literary Award from NRPA and the Distinguished Alumnus Award from SUNY-Cortland. Dr. Godbey has written for and been featured in a wide variety of mass-circulation magazines and newspapers and has been featured extensively on network television. He is a founder of Venture Publishing, a publisher of scholarly books and textbooks in leisure studies. Godbey has given invited presentations in eighteen countries and several of his books and articles have been translated into Chinese, Korean, and Spanish.

A past-president of the Academy, Dr. Goodale previously taught at SUNY-Cortland, Wisconsin-Green Bay, and Ottawa (Canada) where he also served a term as Chair of its bilingual program in Leisure Studies. He has served as Editor of Leisure Sciences, and Associate Editor of Leisure Sciences, Journal of Leisure Research, and other journals, and is co-author (with G. Godbey) of The Evolution of Leisure: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives and co-editor (with P. Witt) of Recreation and Leisure: Issues in an Era of Change. He is a Director of the Metcalf Foundation and advisory board member of TV Free America. He is a Distinguished Alumnus of SUNY-Cortland, Distinguished Colleague of the Society of Park and Recreation Educators, and recipient of the National Literary Award from NRPA. His principal professional interest is a liberal studies approach to teaching undergraduates about leisure.

GRAEFE, ALAN. Elected 2006. Ph.D., Texas A&M. Professor, Recreation, Park and Tourism Management, Penn State.

Alan Graefe teaches courses and conducts research about outdoor recreation behavior and management at the Pennsylvania State University.  He was one of the developers of the Visitor Impact Management (VIM) framework for addressing visitor capacity issues, and was a co-founder of the Northeastern Recreation Research (NERR) Symposium.  His principal research interests revolve around the application of social science to various aspects of recreation resources planning and management.  He is also experienced with studies of environmental impacts of outdoor recreation and the integration of biological and visitor use data to address visitor capacity problems.  He has conducted numerous visitor surveys in parks and other natural areas.  Much of his research has focused on water-based recreation areas and activities, while recent work has focused on monitoring forest use and visitor reactions to recreation fees in the National Forests in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.

Jim Gramann is a professor in the Department of Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences at Texas A&M University and serves full-time as Visiting Chief Social Scientist for the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). Dr. Gramann received his bachelor's degree in anthropology and his master's degree in forest resources from the University of Washington. His Ph.D. is in leisure studies from the University of Illinois, and he is a former associate editor for the Journal of Leisure Research. As NPS Visiting Chief Social Scientist, Dr. Gramann manages a program of applied social science in the national parks with an annual budget of $1.2 million. The NPS Social Science Program is responsible for annually surveying customer satisfaction, counting visitors to the National Park System, estimating the economic impact of park visitation, and coordinating federal approval of university-based social science in the national parks. In addition, Dr. Gramann serves in an advisory capacity to numerous programs in the NPS, other federal agencies, and stakeholder groups. In 2005 and 2006 he provided technical support to the NPS Advisory Board, assisting in its development and evaluation of pilot projects to increase physical activity by visitors to national parks. He has had significant involvement with social science issues in the NPS Alaska Region and with the NPS Natural Sounds Program. Dr. Gramann’s personal research interests include ethnicity and leisure, outdoor recreation behavior, and the effectiveness of interpretive communications in parks. He is especially interested in the role of leisure as a mechanism for selective acculturation among immigrant populations and the value of culturally relevant interpretation in attracting under-served groups to parks. Dr. Gramann is author or co-author of major articles and monographs on ethnicity. Two of his reports formed the basis for the NPS response to a directive from Congress to develop a more cost-effective approach to visitor center planning. In 2005, Dr. Gramann made a presentation on tourism and national parks to the King of Sweden.