Professor Receives Highest Honor from Environmental Education Organization
MELBOURNE, FLA.—Tom Marcinkowski, Florida Institute of Technology associate professor of Science and Environmental Education and Acopian Chair of the Graduate Program in Environmental Education in the College of Science, recently received the highest honor from the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE).The Walter E. Jeske Award recognizes outstanding service to NAAEE and leadership within the profession.
Marcinkowski is most widely known within the environmental education profession for contributions in research, assessment and evaluation. He has helped infuse environmental education into colleges and develop a professional certification program. His professional life has been devoted to the advancement of the field as he conducts and shares his research and assists others.
Marcinkowski attended his first NAAEE conference in 1980 and has been giving his time and talent to the organization ever since. He served a term on the NAAEE Board of Directors while serving as chair of NAAEE’s Research Commission from 1988 to 1993. His expertise in assessment and evaluation has been critical to a national Environmental Literacy Assessment project for which he has developed the Secondary School Environmental Literacy Instrument.
“Having met all previous recipients, I remain acutely aware of the tradition of leadership, service, and professionalism embodied in this award and its past recipients,” said Marcinkowski. “I am both deeply humbled and honored to be recognized in this manner.”
The award honors the memory of Walt Jeske, chief of the Education and Publications Unit of the U.S. Soil Conservation Service. Jeske was a dedicated member of the NAAEE Board of Directors and outstanding environmental educator until his untimely death in 1981.
Marcinkowski and previous award recipients are highlighted on the NAAEE Web site, http://www.naaee.org/programs-and-initiatives/awards.
The North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) is an international network of environmental educators who infuse communities with high-quality teaching methods to show the positive, non-confrontational ways that people can bring about solutions to environmental challenges. Find out more information about the organization and the conference at www.naaee.org.
