Griffith, William S., 1932-1996

William S. Griffith earned his Ph.D. in Adult Education in 1963 from the University of Chicago. He was a professor of Adult Education at the University of British Columbia and the University of Chicago, and taught at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Australian National University and the University of Sydney. He was an active member of the Commission of Adult Education, President of the Northwest Adult Education Association (1990-1991), Chairman of the Commission of Professors of Adult Education (CPAE), and President of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE). He also served on the steering committee of the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC) and chaired the program committees for the AEA/USA and the NAPCAE national conferences (in 1966 and 1975 respectively) and the Research Section of the National University Extension Association. In 1986-1987, Griffith spent a year in the Philippines as part of a joint pilot project of SEAMEO and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).

Bill Griffith had a number of research interests including extension education, correctional education, literacy, population education and international education. He wrote extensively on these and other topics -- articles, books, papers, speeches, reports, and studies -- and made a significant contribution to the field by co-editing (with Howard McClusky) the 8-volume Adult Education Association Handbook Series in Adult Education in 1980-1981.

His contributions to the field have been widely recognized. He was named a Fulbright-Hayes Senior Research Fellow to Australia in 1972-1973, and in 1980 the AEA/USA awarded him its Research to Practice award as well as its Leadership Award.

Bill Griffith died on August 12, 1996 at the age of 64.

From the guide to the William S. Griffith Papers, 1955-2008, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)