Dr. Lynn Anderson is an all-around outdoor educator. She started her career in the outdoors when she was 16 years old, working at camps and with university programs. Later, she worked for the U.S. Forest Service as a backcountry ranger and environmental educator. She went on to run an outdoor pursuits business with her husband, Dale, where she taught windsurfing, cross-country skiing, and other outdoor skills. She has served as a therapeutic recreation specialist in hospital settings, and has been in her current role as a professor, teaching in the area of therapeutic and outdoor recreation, for several years.

As a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist, Dr. Anderson's area of scholarship is in"inclusion of people with disabilities in recreation and parks, in particular in outdoor recreation." She worked with Wilderness Inquiry on a research project that involved looking at the benefits of immersion in outdoor settings for people with and without disabilities. She combines her experience as a therapist with her knowledge as a Certified Parks and Recreation Professional in all aspects of her career. She is currently writing a book, with coauthor Carla Kress, to be published this fall by Venture Publishing called, "Inclusion: Strategies for Including People with Disabilities in Parks and Recreation Opportunities."

From the beginning, Dr. Anderson has been effective in her role as educator. She was awarded the McDermott Undergraduate Teaching Award at the University of North Dakota. As a graduate student at the University of Oregon, she received the Lynn S. Rodney Research Award for research on educating wilderness visitors about minimum impact camping. She has published research articles many journals, and she relishes her role as chair of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at SUNY Cortland. In the midst of all the academia, she still manages to take her class winter camping in 30-degree weather for fun in the snow.

In Her Own Words

The Job
"I am a professor and department chair in a mid-sized university with undergraduate and graduate students. The Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at SUNY Cortland is one of the best in the United States, so it is a privilege to be on the faculty here. I teach undergraduate and graduate courses in a comprehensive recreation curriculum. Students can focus on outdoor recreation management and education, therapeutic recreation, management of leisure services, and leisure/recreation program delivery. All students complete an internship in their area of concentration, which I or other faculty members supervise. For the outdoor students, the internships occur in a broad range of outdoor recreation/education settings, from nature centers to national parks to outdoor adventure programs. Supervising interns allows faculty to stay directly involved in the field. Our department also plays a leadership role in offering numerous outdoor recreation experiences to students on campus, whether it be a credit bearing course or noncredit outdoor experiences.

"We offer rock climbing, backpacking, skiing, kayaking, snowshoeing, etc., as a part of our curriculum and as a service to the student body. Also, in my job, I am very involved with research, with other faculty and with graduate students. Currently, I am working with graduate students on research in wilderness orientation programs for college freshmen, outdoor education curriculum development, outdoor adventure programming for adolescent girls, development of children's gardening programs at nature centers, to name a few."

How She Got There
"As an undergraduate, I was majoring in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. I wanted to help people learn to appreciate and care for the environment. My senior year, I found out about the field of parks and recreation management, and knew I could do more to impact people's values and attitudes about the environment in that field. I believe, and the research supports this, that if people love and enjoy something, they will take better care of it. So I went on for my master's degree in outdoor recreation at the University of Oregon. I had a true mentor there, Dr. Phyllis Ford, who taught me a lot about outdoor education/outdoor recreation. I also am married to an outdoor recreation professor (Dale Anderson), from whom I continually learn even more.

"I began in higher education by teaching some one credit outdoor pursuits courses for a nearby university, in addition to my full-time job in therapeutic recreation. Soon, I was teaching more and more courses. When a position opened up, I applied and here I am today, never really planning to be in higher education. But working with students, helping them to help others learn about leisure, recreation and the outdoors has been so rewarding."

How to Get Her Job
"Pursue a degree in recreation and leisure studies (SUNY Cortland is a great place to study!), get a lot of good work experience in seasonal or summer jobs to begin with, and find a passion that you want to teach or do research about in the outdoors."

Pros
"Working with college students, preparing them to work in parks and recreation, is very rewarding. Many times, I have had students say, 'That was one of the best experiences of my life.' That often happens when you use the outdoors to teach people."

Cons
"The politics of higher education; grading papers."

Salary Range
$35,000—$75,000

Her Dream Job
"My job is pretty close! I get to read and talk about the things I love with my students, and research areas I have great interest in. Through teaching, I feel like I make a bigger difference, as all these students will go out and do great things."

Do you think there's any danger in your passion becoming your career?
"I love what I do, whether I get paid for it or not (of course, it is nice to get paid). When you are passionate about your career and your leisure, that is a very good thing."

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