Dr. Peter A. Witt is holder of the
Elda K. Bradberry Recreation and Youth Development Endowed Chair at Texas
A&M University and a Professor in the Department of Recreation, Park and
Tourism Sciences. He served as Department Head from 1993-2001. Dr. Witt's major interests are in the area of evaluating
outcomes of programs being offered by recreation and park departments and other
youth serving agencies. Results of a number of his studies can be found at:
(http://www.rpts.tamu.edu/faculty/witt.htm)
From 1994-1999, he has served as the coordinator of the
Recreation and Youth Development Consortium, a joint effort of ten universities
and a number of cities who are seeking to improve information about the impact
and value of park and recreation youth services. Dr. Witt also coordinated the
National Prevention Through Recreation Services School from 1997-2001 annually sponsored with
the National Recreation and Park Association and a host city.
Prior to coming to Texas A&M, Dr. Witt
served as Assistant Vice President and Associate Dean of the Toulouse School of
Graduate Studies at the University of North Texas, where he was also a Professor
of Recreation and Leisure Studies. He also served as Associate Vice President
for Research and Assistant Provost at the same Institution. From 1970-79, he
taught at the University of Ottawa.
Dr. Witt has written or edited five books and
authored more than 150 articles and technical reports on the social
psychological aspects of leisure involvement and recreation services for a
variety of different user groups. Among his major works are Recreation
Programs that Work for At-Risk Youth: The Challenge of Shaping the Future
(with John Crompton), Recreation and Leisure: Issues in an Era of Change
(with Tom Goodale, 3rd edition) and The Leisure Diagnostic Battery (with
Gary Ellis).
Dr. Witt is the current editor of the Journal
of Park and Recreation Administration, former editor of the Journal of
Leisure Research and Therapeutic Recreation Journal, and the founding
editor of The Journal of Leisurability. He has been an associate editor
or reviewer for almost every major journal in the leisure studies field in North
America.
In 2004, Dr. Witt received the Robert W.
Crawford Achievement Prize from the National Recreation Foundation. In
addition, he has received the
Distinguished Professional Award from the National Recreation and Parks Society
and the same award from Texas Recreation and Parks Society, along
with the society’s Presidents Award (1999), and Educators Award (1998). He has
received the Theodore and Franklin Roosevelt Award for Excellence in Recreation
Research from the National Recreation and Park Association (1988), and the
Distinguished Colleague Award from the Society of Park and Recreation Educators
(1992). In 1986 he was elected as a member of the Academy of Leisure Sciences
(President 1992-93; President’s Award, 2000) and in 1994 he was elected as a
member of the American Academy of Park and Recreation Administration (President
2004). He has also been awarded the Sapora Research Award by the
University of Illinois (1986), and the Outstanding Achievement Award (1995) by
the American Alliance of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, and
delivered the J. B. Nash lecture to this body in 2000.
A native of Los Angeles, Dr. Witt received his
doctorate in recreation and leisure studies from the University of Illinois. He
holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of California at Los
Angeles.
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