Deb Jordan named fellow
Friday, October 12, 2007
Deb Jordan
She was inducted into the academy on Sept. 27 in Indianapolis during the National Recreation and Park Association Congress and Exposition. There are only approximately 80 people in the world who have been named Fellows.
Election to the academy is in recognition of exceptional scholarship and intellectual contributions to the study of leisure, and requires a two-third majority vote by members.
Criteria include direct engagement in the leisure sciences professions; demonstrated competence for at least 10 years, as evidenced by quality as well as quantity of contributions to the scholarly literature of the field, recognized leadership and extensive, significant participation in professional associations and organizations, and acknowledged outstanding performance as a teacher, leader, administrator, practitioner, or researcher in the field of leisure; and willingness to further the goals of the Academy and participate actively in its affairs.
Jordan joined the OSU Leisure Studies faculty in the College of Education in 1997, and she also served as interim associate dean of the OSU Graduate College from 2005-06.
She received her B.S. degree, cum laude, in parks and recreation, from Slippery Rock State College, her master’s degree in parks and recreation administration from Western Illinois University, and her Re.D. in recreation and park administration from Indiana University.
Prior to coming to OSU, she was a tenured associate professor of leisure services at the University of Northern Iowa, assistant professor and program area leader in recreation administration at Southwest Texas State University from 1988-91, a lecturer in recreation and park administration at Indiana University from 1987-88, and an instructor in physical education and leisure studies at Iowa State University from 1984-86.
She has served as visiting lecturer at the World Leisure and Recreation Association Institute of Excellence in The Netherlands; at the Chinese University of Hong Kong Horticulture and Recreation Program in Kowloon; and at Slippery Rock University.
Jordan served as state coordinator and director of Oklahoma’s “Becoming an Outdoors Woman” program for five years, and since 1990 has been a partner and consultant in jy associates, which trains in areas of leadership, team building, issues of diversity and staff training.
She has authored two leading textbooks on leadership and programming, and is the author of numerous textbook chapters and journal articles. She also served as the managing editor of “Humanics: The Journal of Leadership for Youth and Human Service,” from 1993-95, and has been a reviewer for numerous professional journals.
Jordan has received numerous honors and awards, including being named a Senior Fellow of the American Leisure Academy in 2001; a Gold Metcalf Lecturer at the State University of New York in 2003; the American Association of Leisure and Recreation Outstanding Achievement Award in 1997; named a World Leisure and Recreation Association International Center of Excellence Faculty Member in 1995 in the Netherlands; a Service Award from the American Camping Association in 1994; and was named to Rho Phi Alpha national recreation honorary in 1979.
Her professional memberships include the National Recreation and Park Association, where she currently serves as the vice chair of the Council on Accreditation; the Society for Parks and Recreation Educators, where she served on the board of directors and is currently a representative on the National Forum, on the Professional Development and Research Committee, and on the Diversity Committee; and the Society for Parks and Recreation Educators, where she served as president.