News
Merrill becomes president of AAACE
November 2011
Henry Merrill, associate professor emeritus of adult education in the Indiana University School of Continuing Studies (SCS), was sworn in as president of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) during the association’s fall 2011 conference in Indianapolis.
“It was humbling to be invested as president of AAACE,” said Merrill (pictured with former AAACE president Clare Klunk). “The accomplishments of distinguished colleagues who have served as president during the last 60-plus years are daunting. I hope to learn from their examples and build on their work during my term in 2012.”
Dedicated to the belief that lifelong learning contributes to human fulfillment and positive social change, AAACE provides leadership in adult education, fosters the dissemination of best practices and research, and advocates relevant public-policy and social-change initiatives. It has about 950 members nationwide.
Merrill is an ardent practitioner of the AAACE mission. After more than two decades of career success at Earlham College and Indiana University – teaching and creating theater, doing experiential learning in off-campus venues, providing student development leadership, and helping adults navigate their formal and informal learning journeys – he earned his doctorate in education at the age of 47. He began teaching in the SCS Master of Science in Adult Education program in 1996, where his primary areas of interest were adult development and learning, program planning, instructional design, and distance education. Over the years, he made presentations and published conference papers about lifelong learning at numerous professional conferences.
Merrill officially left academe in July 2010, vowing to “reframe, not retire” and to continue volunteering for associations like AAACE.
His objectives for AAACE in the coming year are to build on the strategic objectives and initiatives completed by the AAACE Board of Directors in 2010 and 2011 (visit aaace.memberclicks.net/assets/docs/aaace-strategic-objectives-initiatives_april2012.pdf), further develop and implement AAACE’s communication and marketing plan, and develop additional partnerships between AAACE and other national and international organizations.
“I am the product of a family that embraced lifelong learning,” said Merrill. “As AAACE president, I will continue to challenge everyone to find ways to learn and to help others develop a culture of learning.”
