Janet MacLearn. Re.D., Indiana, 1958. Professor Emeritus, Recreation and Park Administration, Indiana. She served on Indiana's faculty for 32 years and developed its Center on Aging. Her many contributions to the profession include serving as President of SPRE, Chair of the NRPA/AALR Council on Accreditation, NRPA Board of Trustees member and Chair of several of its committees, Founding Member of AAPRA, delegate to three White House Conferences on Aging, and much more. Co-author of one text and author of numerous monographs, chapters and articles, Dr. MacLean has given addresses and workshops for a wide range of organizations and agencies in and outside the recreation field, throughout the United States, Canada, Germany, and Australia. Among a dozen major awards she has received are: the State of Indians's highest award, Sagamore of the Wabash; SPRE's Distinguished Service Award; NRPA's Special Service Citation; AALR's Nash Scholar Lecture Award; Outstanding Educator of America; and President's Council on Fitness Silver Anniversary Award. She was also an elected member of the Academy of Leisure Sciences.

Janet MacLean

by Pat Delaney, Academy of Park and Recreation Administration Bulletin

If leadership means making things happen, then Dr. Janet R. MacLean is and has been a significant leader in parks and recreation. She began as the head of a summer playground program in Vermont. Although she also taught school, her interest in recreation was growing. She went to Cleveland Congress of the National Recreation Association, met Garrett Eppley, and turned a major corner in her life. She moved to Bloomington, and began teaching at Indiana University. The University became and remains part of her family. This includes not only her colleagues, but also her students and now their children who come to I.U. to see videotapes which she has made for use in the classroom.

When asked about the best part of being in this field, she immediately replied, "people", and referred to little kids on the playground, to adult townspeople, and especially to senior citizens. She recalled with pleasure that she once taught drama and music and tap dance as well as arts and crafts.

Jan has been the instigator of developmental milestones in parks and recreation. She was at the forefront of Accreditation. Her proposal was instrumental in getting NRPA to develop the National Council on Accreditation. She wrote the original draft of the Bylaws for SPRE, and helped develop the Leisure Education Conference. She began the WAVE Award program for audio-visual excellence. At Indiana University, she wrote the proposal for the Center on Aging and brought the Center into being. She served for five years on the President's Council on Fitness, and was the luncheon speaker at the White House Conference on Aging.

She may have retired from teaching and management, but she is still deeply involved. She wrote a proposal which won a state grant to develop the Bloomington Older Americans Center. She served on the state-wide Advisory Council on Aging with the Indiana Department of Human Resources. She helped develop the Federation of Older Hoosiers. She gives seminars and workshops on community and human relations and on leisure and aging around the country, and as far away as Australia.

In addition, she still finds time for sailing. Her husband, Bill, was a recent president of the National Thistle Class Association, and they have been to seventeen different states for Regattas. She is writing a history of the Lake Monroe (Indiana) Sailing Association. She also likes to read, do crossword puzzles, ride her bicycle, and enjoys her great grandchildren.

To undergraduates who are planning to major in Recreation, Dr. MacLean gently warns that they must honestly enjoy working with all kinds of people; be willing to do more than their share, and recognize that they may not become wealthy in a monetary sense, but there are many other rewards. To young people entering the field, she advises of the necessity to adapt to the local environment of the community; to consider today's social climate, and what they will actually be doing on the job, and to constantly search for ideas from our own field as well as others.

With reference to the Academy, she recommends the consideration of conferences with a specific focus such as the one in St. Louis. She believes there is a special value in Academy input, and interaction when it is pointed toward a current issue of national concern to our field. She also stressed the need for continuity of leadership in the Living Legends Program. Awareness of budget needs, knowledge of candidates to be interviewed, and improved access to quality production settings are vital for the continued success of this essential Academy program.

Dr. Janet MacLean has been an educator, role model, colleague, and friend to many Academy members. Her support and guidance will continue to benefit the development of the Academy, and we salute her as one of our leaders.

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