Sharan B. Merriam is professor of adult education at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

. Her focus has been researching and writing about adult learning and the foundations of adult education. She has won the Cyril O. Houle Award for Outstanding Literature in Adult Education for three of her books. In 1998 she was a senior

Fulbright scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

Biographical information

Presently on the faculty in

Adult Education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

at the

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, where her responsibilities include teaching graduate courses in adult education and qualitative research methods, and supervising graduate student research. Her doctorate is in adult education from

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. Prior to her move to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, she served on the faculties of

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

and

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

. Merriam served as author, co-author, or editor of 25 books and was co-editor of the ''Adult Education Quarterly'' for five years. Merriam is especially known for her work on qualitative case studies in educational research. Along with numerous teaching and research awards, Merriam has been a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

and a visiting scholar to Soongsil University,

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and won the Cyril O. Houle Award for Outstanding Literature for three different books.www.halloffame.outreach.ou.edu Merriam
/ref>

Honors and awards

Visiting Scholar, Department of Lifelong Education, Soongsil University,

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

(March to June, 2006) Elected to the Board of Directors,

Capella University Capella University is a private for-profit, online university headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The school is owned by the publicly traded Strategic Education, Inc. Capella has 47 degree programs with over 1,600 courses. Approximately ...

, Minneapolis, Minn(3-year term of service) 2004 Inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame. 2003 Recipient of the Career Achievement Award from the Commission of Professors of Adult Education (awarded once every three years). 2002 Recipient of the Houle World Award for Outstanding Literature in Adult Education for the book, Learning in Adulthood, at AAACE. 2000 Selected for the Inaugural Class of The University of Georgia Teaching Academy. 2000 Fulbright Lectureship and Research Award to University Putra Malaysia, Serdang, Malaysia (June to December, 1998)1998 Recipient of the Houle World Award for Outstanding Literature in Adult Education for the book The Profession and Practice of Adult Education: An Introduction, at AAACE.1997 Selected as a Senior Teaching Fellow, Office of Instructional Development, University of Georgia, Athens, GA.1997 Selected as one of two delegates from the commission of Professors of Adult Education (CPAE) to participate in the Fifth International

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Conference on Adult Education,

Hamburg, Germany Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

.1997 Summer Outreach Award to support collaboration with

Universiti Pertanian Malaysia University of Putra Malaysia (Malay language, Malay: ''Universiti Putra Malaysia''), abbreviated as UPM, is a Malaysian public research university located in Seri Kembangan, Serdang, Selangor. Formerly it was named Universiti Pertanian Malaysi ...

. 1997 Meritorious Service Award, American Association of Adult and Continuing Education, for service to the field as co-editor of Adult Education Quarterly.1993 Georgia Adult Education Association’s Literary Award for Lifelines: Patterns of Work, Love and Learning in Adulthood.1993 Selected as an Advisor/Mentor for the National Extension Leadership Development (NELD) program,

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

and Kellogg Foundation.1992/1993 Selected to be a research fellow with the Project for the Study of Adult Learning (PSAL), a National University Continuing Education Association sponsored project.1991/1992

Select bibliography

* * * * (Winner of the 2000 Cyril O. Houle Award For Outstanding Literature in Adult Education;Cyril O Houle Award Recipients
translated into Chinese, 2003) * * (Winner of 1997 Cyril O. Houle Award For Outstanding Literature in Adult Education) * (First edition, 1984, winner of the 1984 Philip Franson Memorial Award for Literature in Continuing Education.) * (Translated into Chinese, 1984. Winner of the 1985 Cyril O. Houle Award For Outstanding Literature in Adult Education)

Editorships

Editor, with Ronald M. Cervero, of the book series, Professional Practices in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning, Krieger Publishing Company. (currently) Editor, with Ronald M. Cervero of Adult Education Quarterly, the major journal of research and theory in Adult Education. Editorship involved organizing and administering a 50-member review board, managing a blind review process, corresponding with authors, editing accepted manuscripts and overseeing desktop publishing of the journal. Journal is published four times a year. 1989-1993 Editor, with Phyllis Cunningham, of the Handbook of Adult Education. This service to the Association of Adult and Continuing Education involved conceptualizing the project, securing authors for 48 chapters, editing the chapters, working with the Association over format, content and budget. Consulting Editor for Adult Education Quarterly, Adult Literacy and Basic Education, The Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, The Gerontologist, International Journal of Aging and Human Development, International Journal of Lifelong Education, New Zealand Journal of Adult Learning, and Qualitative Studies in Education.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merriam, Sharan Living people University of Georgia faculty Year of birth missing (living people) Adult education leaders