Joel Meier is a Professor and the former Chair of the Department of Recreation and Park Administration at Indiana University. Prior to coming to IU, he served as Associate Dean of the School of Forestry at The University of Montana. During his 24 years at Montana, Dr. Meier held various other positions, including Coordinator of the Recreation Management Program in the Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, Chair of the Department of HPER, and Professor and Coordinator of Recreation Management in the School of Forestry. Early in Meier's career he served as an Outward Bound Training Officer for the Peace Corps in Puerto Rico before taking his first academic appointment at the University of Nebraska. He received his bachelors and masters degrees from the University of Nebraska, and his doctoral degree in Recreation and Park Administration at Indiana University (Re.D. degree).
Joel is an active participant and leader in a number of professional
organizations. He has been President of the American Alliance for Health,
Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), the American Association for
Leisure and Recreation (AALR), and the Montana AHPERD, as well as Vice President
for Recreation for both Northwest and Midwest Districts of the AAHPERD. He has
served as Northwest District Representative to AAHPERD, and as Vice President of
Hostelling International - American Youth Hostels, Inc. Other special
assignments and awards include service as Senior Fulbright Scholar in New
Zealand, consultant to the Malaysian Ministry of Youth and Sport, and
Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Alaska, Anchorage. He
has received the Distinguished Colleague Award from SPRE, as well as the Luther
Halsey Gulick Award from AAHPERD. He
has also been a recipient of the Honor Award from both AALR and AAHPERD, as well
as the Julian Smith Award from the National Council on Outdoor Education and the
J.B. Nash Scholar Award from the American Association for Leisure and
Recreation. He is also a member of the Academy for Park and Recreation
Administration, a Senior Fellow of the American Leisure Academy, and a Charter
Fellow of the North American Society for Health Education, Physical Education,
Recreation, Sport and Dance.
Meier has authored several books on outdoor leadership, including Backpacking, Camp Counseling: Leadership and Programming for the Organized Camp, and High Adventure Outdoor Pursuits: Organization and Leadership. He 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.
Joel is an avid backpacker, mountaineer, whitewater and ocean kayaker, alpine and nordic skier, and outdoor photographer. He has undertaken lengthy wilderness treks in Nepal, New Zealand, and other areas of the world, has kayaked numerous whitewater rivers of the western United States, and has completed extensive ocean kayak expeditions throughout the world, including paddling expeditions along the coasts of Siberia and the Russian Far East, B.C. Canada, and the Alaska arctic region, as well as Belize, Costa Rica, Malaysia and the Mexican Baja.