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:

HAMMITT, WILLIAM E. Elected 1994. Ph.D., Michigan, 1978. Professor, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, and Forest Resources, Clemson.

Dr. Hammitt's principal research interests are recreation behavior and preferences of visitors to wildland environments, and the environmental psychology of privacy-solitude within wildland recreation. He is senior author of the textbook, Wildland Recreation: Ecology and Management, and has authored or co-authored over 100 research articles. Dr. Hammitt has served as an associate editor for Leisure Sciences and the Journal of Leisure Research. Teaching recreation resource management and graduate research are special interests, resulting in two Senior Fulbright Fellowships being awarded. Dr. Hammitt was at the University of Tennessee for twelve years before going to Clemson University.

HAVITZ, MARK E. Elected 2000. Ph.D., Texas A&M, 1987. Professor, Recreation and Leisure Studies, Waterloo.

Dr. Havitz's research interests involve the study of marketing and consumer behaviour in leisure, recreational, sport and touristic contexts. His research applies this subject-matter most often to public sector and non-profit sector delivery systems which provide special challenges related to social and environmental issues, equity, and unresponsive markets. Specifically, his three major areas of concentration have been related to enduring involvement, loyalty and commitment, and leisure and unemployment. More recently he has developed a line of research related to family vacations. He is senior author of The Diverse Worlds of Unemployed Adults, and he has edited a book of case studies focusing on financing and marketing public park and recreation services and co-authored a Canadian supplement to John Crompton's Financing and Acquiring Park and Recreation Resources text. Dr. Havitz was editor of the Journal of Applied Recreation Research from 1994 to 1999 and oversaw, as co-editor, its transition to Leisure: The Journal of the Canadian Association for Leisure Studies in 2000. He served for eight years as associate editor with the Journal of Leisure Research and as co-chair of the NRPA Leisure Research Symposium for 2000 and 2001. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Leisure Studies, MSU Varsity Alumni Club, a past board member with the Ontario Research Council on Leisure, and historian of the Academy of Leisure Sciences and the Michigan State Association of FarmHouse Fraternity. His serious leisure interests include volunteering with Habitat for Humanity, running, and researching family history.

HAWKINS, BARBARA A. Elected 2006.  Re.D., Indiana, 1979. Professor, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Studies, Indiana.

Barbara’s research and teaching focus on health, daily life activities, and the well-being of older adults. She is nationally and internationally recognized for her research on aging adults with mental retardation, particularly adults with Down syndrome. In 1985 she initiated a specialized research and training program on aging and developmental disabilities at the Institute for the Study of Developmental Disabilities, Indiana University. In 1998, she completed a 10 year longitudinal investigation of aging-related change in adults with mental retardation. Since 1993, Barbara has broadened her inquiry to include health, daily life activities, social support, mental efficacy, and material security as predictors of well-being in later life. Barbara served as Director of the IU Center on Aging and Aged from 2001-2005. She is author/co-author of more than 50 refereed scientific publications, four books, 14 chapters in books, 60 technical reports and other publications, and three assessment tools. She has garnered over $2 million in funded grants and contracts. In May 2004, she received the IU HPER Outstanding Researcher Award. She serves on review panels for NIH and CDCP. She was elected to the Board of Directors for the International Federation on Ageing (2004). Barbara was President of SPRE (1993-1994). She also served as President of the Leisure and Recreation Division of the American Association on Mental Retardation (1992-94, 1994-96, 2000-02) and as a member of the AAMR Board of Directors (1994-1996).

HEATH, EDWARD H. Founder. Ph.D., Illinois, 1965. Professor, Recreation, Park and Tourism Sciences, Texas A&M.

Prior to serving at TAMU, Dr. Heath was Associate Professor, Professor, and Head, Recreation, Oregon State University, and Assistant Professor and Director, Recreation, New Mexico. He has served two terms as a member of the NRPA/AALR Council on Accreditation and is a Past-President of the Academy, SPRE, AALR, NRPA's Council of Branch Presidents, and the Oregon Park and Recreation Society. Dr. Heath's awards include: University of Illinois Distinguished Alumnus; Oregon Park and Recreation Society Distinguished Service, and Distinguished Professional; NRPA Northwest Region's Educator Award; and SPRE's Distinguished Fellow Award.

HENDEE, JOHN C. Elected 2001. Ph.D., Washington, 1967. Professor and Director, Wilderness Research Center, Resource Recreation and Tourism, Idaho.

Dr. Hendee began his career in 1961 in timber management on the Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon. He then worked in fire research at the US Forest Service Pacific Southwest Experiment Station in Berkeley and as recreation research unit leader at the Pacific Northwest Forest Experiment Station in Seattle from 1967 to 1976, where he also served as affiliate faculty in forestry at the University of Washington. He was selected as a Federal Congressional Fellow for 1976-77, and served on the staffs of Senator Frank Church of Idaho and Congressman James Weaver of Oregon; he then served on the Legislative Affairs Staff of the Forest Service in Washington, D.C., 1978, and as assistant director of the Southeastern Forest Experiment Station in Asheville, North Carolina, 1979-1985. He was appointed Dean of the University of Idaho, College of Forestry, Wildlife and Range Sciences, in August 1985, serving nine years until July 1, 1994, when he became full-time director of the UI Wilderness Research Center and Professor of Resource Recreation and Tourism. Dr. Hendee has authored over 150 publications, including three books, on human dimensions of natural resources, wilderness, and wildlife management. He is senior co-author of the text book Wilderness Management (1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions), co-author of the reference book Wildlife Management in Wilderness, and Introduction to Forests and Renewable Resources (6th and 7th editions). He was the founding Managing Editor (1995) and is now Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal of Wilderness. Dr. Hendee was vice chair for Science for the 4th and 5th World Wilderness Congresses, 1987 and 1993; chair of the SAF National Wilderness Research Needs Task Force, 1991-93; member of the National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council Committees on Science in the National Parks, 1990-1992 and on Environmental Issues in Pacific Northwest Forest Management, 1993-1999. He is vice chair for science for the WILD Foundation, sponsors of the World Wilderness Congresses and the International Journal of Wilderness. Dr. Hendee has received numerous awards, including the American Motors' National Conservation Achievement Award (1974), the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) Award for Outstanding Contributions to Wilderness Research and Education (1985), several certificates of merit and cash awards from the USDA Forest Service, the American Society for Public Administration award for "Lifetime Contributions to the Administration of Natural Resources" (1987); and an award for leadership in Wilderness Research and Education from the Society of American Foresters Wilderness Working Group (1993). Now in transition to retirement, Dr. Hendee is revising his Wilderness and Forestry textbooks, completing wilderness therapy research, overseeing the International Journal of Wilderness, and assists his wife, Marilyn Riley, taking clients on wilderness vision quests with their non-profit educational company, www.wildernesstransitions.com.

HENDERSON, KARLA A. Elected 1990. Ph.D., Minnesota, 1979. Professor, Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management, North Carolina State University.

Dr. Henderson is currently a Professor in the Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management at North Carolina State University. She has been on the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Texas Woman's University. Her Ph.D. was completed at the University of Minnesota. She has given numerous presentations throughout North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. She publishes regularly in a variety of journals in the field and has authored or co-authored several books: Both Gains and Gaps (with Bialeschki, Shaw, and Freysinger), Dimensions of Choice, Volunteers in Leisure (with Tedrick), Introduction to Leisure Services (with Sessoms), and Evaluation of Leisure Services (with Bialeschki). She is currently co-editor of Leisure Sciences. Dr. Henderson has contributed to the profession in a number of ways by serving as president of SPRE, president of the AAHPERD Research Consortium, President of the Academy of Leisure Sciences, and on numerous state, national, and international boards and committees. She has been the recipient of the JB Nash Scholar Award, the Julian Smith Award, the NCRPS Special Citation, the ACA Honor Award, the SPRE Distinguished Colleague Award, the North Carolina Recreation and Park Society Honor Award, and the NRPA Roosevelt Excellence in Research Award. When not working, Karla enjoys hiking in the Rocky Mountains, running and playing her trumpet in North Carolina, and reading and writing wherever she goes.

HOWARD, DENNIS R. Elected 1985. Ph.D., Oregon State, 1974. Professor, The Charles H. Lundquist College of Business, Oregon.

Dr. Howard's principal research interests focus on the application of consumer behavior theory to sport and recreation issues. His research in recent years has concentrated on the development of a scale for measuring the dimensions which motivate and sustain sport spectatorship. His latest book with John Crompton is entitled Financing Sport. He has served as Co-Chair of NRPA's Leisure Research Symposium, member of SPRE's Board of Directors, President of the Oregon Park and Recreation Society, Associate Editor of Leisure Sciences, and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Sport Management.

HUIDI, MA. Elected 2006, Director and Distinguished Researcher Center for Leisure Studies, Chinese Academy of Art.

Dr. Huidi has lead major research projects related to the development of leisure industry and the societal support system for it, leisure time survey on the current state of the cultural and spiritual life of the Chinese public, and approaches to improving the quality of the cultural life of China's urban communities. She organized a 5-volume "Western Works in Leisure Studies" translation series, including The Evolution of Leisure: Historical and Philosophical Perspectives by Thomas L. Goodale and Geoffrey G. Godbey, Leisure in Your Life: An Exploration, 4th ed., by Geoffrey G. Godbey, Freedom to Be: A New Sociology of Leisure by John R. Kelly, Leisure and Leisure Services in the 21st Century by Geoffrey G. Godbey, and Both Gains and Gaps: Feminist Perspectives on Women's Leisure by Karla A. Henderson, et al.  The series was published by Yunnan People's Press in August, 2000, and has undergone three printings since then. The Guiguan Group of Publishers in Taiwan has purchased the right to publish the series in traditional Chinese characters. She has published three books (Toward a Leisure Economy with Humanistic Concerns, Survey Studies of the State of Leisure Life among the Chinese Public, and Leisure: The Making of a Beautiful Home for the Human Spirit) and a number of papers in Xinhua Digest, China Social Science Digest, and China People's University Reprints from Journals and Newspapers. She organized national "Leisure and Social Progress" conferences in China in 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2005.

HULTSMAN, JOHN. Elected 1998. Associate Vice President and Director, California State University Bakersfield's Antelope Valley Campus.

Dr. John Hultsman is Associate Vice President and Director of California State University Bakersfield's Antelope Valley Campus. Previously, he served as Interim Dean of the College of Human Services, Director of the Partnership for Community Development, and Professor of Recreation and Tourism Management at Arizona State University West. Prior to that appointment he was a faculty member in the Department of Physical Education, Health, and Recreation Studies at Purdue University. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Sciences from Kansas University, a Master's in Recreation from the University of Missouri, and a Doctorate in Recreation from Indiana University. Between earning his Master's and Doctorate, he worked as an outdoor recreation planner and program coordinator for the Tennessee Valley Authority's Division of Forestry, Fisheries, and Wildlife. His academic interests focus on the effects of technology on leisure, at-risk youth, and program evaluation. John has published in all of the major journals in recreation and leisure as well as outlets such as the Journal of American Culture, Popular Culture Review, The Counseling Psychologist, and Youth and Society and is the lead author of Planning Parks for People, a recreation planning text currently in its second edition. He is a Fellow of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration. During the 1994-1995 academic year he was appointed the Arizona State University Loaned Executive to the City of Phoenix during which time he conducted and authored a comprehensive policy analysis of City youth programs and services that has helped restructure the design of youth services delivery by the City. From 1991-1997 he was the editor of the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration's Journal of Park and Recreation Administration, for which he was presented the Academy's President's Award in 1997. He currently edits the Journal's Programs that Work section. John co-chaired the National Recreation and Park Association's Leisure Research Symposium in 1996 and 1997.

HUNNICUTT, BENJAMIN KLINE. Elected 1992. Ph.D., North Carolina, 1976. Professor, Leisure Studies, Iowa.

Ben Hunnicutt's major writings have concerned the history of work and leisure, and include Work Without End: Abandoning Shorter Hours for the Right to Work. The thesis raised in this book and other of his writings, namely tha tthe century-long process of work reduction ended after World War II, and that afterwards, leisure stabilized and has actually declined in recent years, has been investigated in several works published in the United States since 1987, including Juliet Schor's The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure and Jeremy Rifkin's The End of Work. Dr. Hunnicutt has also written for The Wall Street Journal and appeared in a variety of nationally broadcast television programs in the USA, including the PBS special, Running Out Of Time, discussing "the end of shorter hours," the rise of the culture (perhaps religion) of work, and the trivialization of leisure. His major scholarship continues to be the historical problems of the origin of the culture of overwork and the decline of meaningful, culture generating, leisure in modern societies. Dr. Hunnicutt has been chair of the Department of Leisure Studies and Director of the Division of Physical Education at the University of Iowa. Currently, he is co-director of the Society for the Reduction of Human Labor.

ISO-AHOLA, SEPPO E. Elected 1986. Ph.D., Illinois, 1976. Professor, Kinesiology, Maryland.

Seppo E. Iso-Ahola received his BS from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, in 1971, an MS from the University of Illinois in 1972, an MS from the University of Jyväskylä in 1973, and the PhD from the University of Illinois in 1976. He was Assistant and Associate Professor at the University of Iowa from 1976 to 1981, and Associate Professor (1981 to 1984) and Professor (since 1984) at the University of Maryland. He has published over seventy research articles in various scientific journals in psychology, kinesiology, and leisure studies, and has authored four books dealing with the social psychology of leisure and sports. He was editor of the Journal of Leisure Research between 1983 and 1986 and of Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sport between 1994 and 1997. He received the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Recreation and Park Research in 1987, the Charles Brightbill Award in 1988, and the Allen V. Sapora Research Award in 1993.

JACKSON, EDGAR L. Elected 1989. Ph.D., Toronto, 1974. Professor, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Alberta.

A native of Great Britain and a graduate of the London School of Economics and Political Science, Dr. Jackson emigrated to Canada in 1968, where he completed a master's degree at the University of Calgary (1970) and a Ph.D. at the University of Toronto (1974). He began his teaching career at the University of Toronto in 1974 and moved to the University of Alberta in 1975, where he is now Professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences. His research interests have focused upon a variety of topics related to leisure and recreation, including the relationship between outdoor recreation participation and attitudes to the natural environment, satisfaction in outdoor recreation, and conflict. In recent years he has concentrated largely on constraints to leisure participation and enjoyment, an area in which he has published more than twenty journal articles and several contract reports for the Alberta government. He co-edited (with fellow Academy member Thomas L. Burton) and wrote portions of the 1989 text, Understanding Leisure and Recreation: Mapping the Past, Charting the Future, which assessed the then-current state of knowledge in leisure studies and provided a framework for the next decade of research. A similar but more recent and ambitious book (also co-edited with Tim Burton) is Leisure Studies: Prospects for the Twenty-First Century (Venture Publishing, Inc., 1999), which includes contributions from about 40 leisure scholars from the United States, Canada, Australia, and Great Britain, many of them members of the Academy. Dr. Jackson has recently completed editing a new book, Constraints to Leisure, due to be published by Venture in 2005. He was an Associate Editor of the Journal of Leisure Research from 1988 to 1995, Secretary of the Canadian Association for Leisure Studies (CALS) for two three-year terms (1987-1993), and President of CALS for 1996 to 1999. He received both the Allen V. Sapora Research Award and NRPA's Roosevelt Research Award in 1995. He was President of the Academy for 1995-1996. Dr. Jackson also maintains the websites for CALS, two jazz websites (The Big Chris Barber Band and Sweet Papa Lowdown), and two sites about Iceland (A Collection of Icelandic Photographs and Travels in 19th Century Iceland).

JORDAN, DEB. Elected 2007. Re.D., Indiana University. Professor, Leisure Studies Program, Oklahoma State University.

Dr. Jordan has published in several journals and authored three textbooks: Leadership in Leisure Services: Making a Difference, Programming in Leisure Services: A Servant Leadership Approach (with DeGraaf and DeGraaf), and Leisure and Life Satisfaction: Foundational Perspectives (with Edginton, DeGraaf, and Edginton). She has served as editor for the American Humanics Journal and as technical editor for several publications. She has garnered over $950,000 in grants and contracts and is currently engaged in research related to parks, park visitors, and the meanings people find in parks. Dr. Jordan was honored as a Gold Metcalf Lecturer, was named a Senior Fellow of the American Leisure Academy, received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the AALR, and received awards for service as well as editorial excellence from the American Camp Association. She is currently a Professor and Graduate Coordinator in the Leisure Studies Program at Oklahoma State University. She has been on the faculty at the University of Northern Iowa, Southwest Texas State University, and Iowa State University. She has served on the Board of Directors of the World Leisure Association, and on the Board and as President of the Society for Park and Recreation Educators of NRPA. She currently serves as chair of the Diversity Committee of the National Forum (NRPA) and on the Education, Training, and Professional Development Committee of the National Forum (NRPA). Dr. Jordan has made numerous presentations at the international, national, regional, and state levels in the areas of leadership, diversity, programming, and legal liability.

M. JEAN KELLER. Elected 2004. Ph.D. Georgia. Professor, Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation, and Dean, College of Education, North Texas.

M. Jean Keller is a professor in the Department of Kinesiology, Health Promotion, and Recreation and serves as the Dean of the College of Education at the University of North Texas. She received a bachelor's of science and master's of science degree from The Florida State University in Recreation and Leisure Studies. Her doctoral degree in Recreation and Leisure Studies is from the University of Georgia. She has written or edited eleven books and twelve refereed chapters, and authored over 100 articles on therapeutic recreation and gerontological topics. In addition, she has given over 300 presentations in the United States and several other countries. Her research interests have focused on therapeutic recreation activities and their efficacy with frail older adults and the role of leisure in the life of caregivers. She is the recipient of national, regional, and statewide awards including the Distinguished Professional Award presented by the National Therapeutic Recreation Society and the J.B. Nash Scholar Award for Research presented by the American Association of Leisure and Recreation. Her community service was recognized with the National Service to Youth Award presented by the Boys and Girls Club of America. She was recognized for teaching by the J.H. Shelton Excellence in Teaching Award presented by the University of North Texas Faculty Senate. She served as chair of the Board of Directors for the National Council on Therapeutic Recreation Certification; as program coordinator for the Gerontological Society of America's Annual Conference; and as chair of the Therapeutic Recreation Symposium for the Southwest. She has been awarded over 9 million dollars of funding by external agencies for research and innovative projects.

KELLY, JOHN R. Elected 1982. Ph.D., Oregon, 1972. Professor, Leisure Studies, Illinois.

Dr. Kelly's central line of research focuses on leisure, work, and family/community identities and orientations through the life course. That is reflected in over 60 journal articles, 30 chapters in books, 10 technical reports for government agencies or corporations, and 8 books: Leisure (3rd edition, 1995), Leisure Identities and Interactions, Recreation Business, Freedom to Be: a New Sociology of Leisure, Peoria Winter: Styles and Resources in Later Life, Recreation Trends Toward the Year 2000, The Sociology of Leisure (with G. Godbey), and Activity and Aging (editor). He was the founding Chair of the WLRA Commission on Research and has lectured in many countries. Among his awards are the NRPA Roosevelt Research Award and National Literary Award and the ALR Nash Scholar Award.

KLEIBER, DOUGLAS A. Elected 1987. Ph.D., Texas, 1972. Professor and Head, Recreation and Leisure Studies, Georgia.

After 12 years as a member and then Director of the Leisure Behavior Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois, Dr. Kleiber became Department Head at the University of Georgia in 1989. A developmental/educational psychologist by training, Dr. Kleiber has published over 90 articles and chapters on the motivational and developmental concomitants of leisure and sport involvement. In 1994 he received the Allen V. Sapora Research Award for this work. He has examined the role of leisure in the transitions from adolescence to adulthood and work to retirement and its significance in coping with various disabilities. He has been an Associate Editor of both Leisure Sciences and the Journal of Leisure Research and is a past President of the Academy. His book Leisure Experience and Human Development was recently published by Westview Press/Basic Books (1999), and he is also a coauthor of A Social Psychology of Leisure with Roger Mannell (Venture Publishing, Inc., 1997).

LAPAGE, WILBUR F. Elected 1982. Ph.D., SUNY-College of Forestry and Environmental Sciences, and Syracuse University, 1975. Consultant on issues of park system administration, and Adjunct Professor, University of Maine.

Will is the author of Parks for Life (Venture Publishing, Inc., 2006) and is the 2006-2007 Reynold Carlson Distinguished Lecturer at Indiana University. An international consultant for park system administration, funding, and partnership building, he has worked with the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, providing assistance to national park systems in Eastern Europe, Central America, and the Caribbean; and has worked with outdoor recreation planners in South Africa. A member of the President’s Commission on Americans Outdoors, the National Camping Hall of Fame, and a life member of the National Association of State Park Directors, Will has written extensively on park policy and the ethics of park management. Dr. LaPage was the first recipient of NRPA’s Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Park and Recreation Research. He has authored over 130 research reports on outdoor recreation trends. From 1984 to 1994, he was director of New Hampshire’s state parks and historic sites, converting it to America’s first self-funded, litter-free, state park system. Will is also the author of Partnerships for Parks – A Handbook for Building and Guiding Park Partnerships, and he is completing a text on the power of belief in environmental interpretation. He has served on the faculties of the Universities of Maine, New Hampshire, Wyoming, and Colorado State, teaching courses on the issues and ethics of park management and environmental interpretation.

LARSON, REED. Elected 1998. Professor, Human and Community Development, Psychology, Leisure Studies, and Kinesiology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Reed Larson's research is concerned with the emotional economy of daily life, especially for adolescents and for families. Most of his studies have been conducted using the Experience Sampling Method, in which participants provide reports on their activities and emotional states at random times over a week. Using these data, he has published findings on adolescents' daily experiences when they are alone, during interactions with family and peers, while they are watching television, during other leisure activities and in various other contexts of daily life. He has also examined the relationship of daily emotions and experience to mental health, cross-cultural comparisons of adolescents' experience, patterns of time use in families, and how emotions are transmitted between family members. He is the author of Being Adolescent: Growth and Conflict in the Teenage Years (with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi) and Divergent Realities: The Emotional Lives of Mothers, Fathers, and Adolescents (with Maryse Richards). He was formerly the Chair of the Division of Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Illinois and is currently the Chair of the Study Groups Committee of the Society for Research on Adolescence.