George F. Aker was born June 2, 1927, the son of George Mosier and Vera Aker, in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He married Patricia Lou Lawson in 1946 and was the father of four children: Linda Lou, Kathy Ann, Jon Kent, and Susan Nanette. Aker earned a B.S. in 1950 from Purdue University and both an M.S. in 1958 and Ph.D. in 1962 from the University of Wisconsin. He held faculty positions at the universities of Missouri, Wisconsin and Chicago. In 1963 he joined the faculty of the Florida State University at Tallahassee. At the time of his death in 1987 he was a professor of adult education and director of the Division of Educational Management Systems at F.S.U.
An activist in national adult education organizations, Aker was a member of the Adult Education Association of the U.S.A. and its president from 1969-1970. He also served on the board of directors for the National Association of Public School Adult Education from 1963-1970. An author and editor of several books on the field of adult education, including the Handbook of Adult Education (1970), Aker also wrote numerous research papers, journal articles and training guides. George Aker's major professional interests were in the development of graduate study and research programs in adult education, and in psychological research to improve the efficiency of adult learning, especially among the disadvantaged and in third world countries. In addition, Aker pursued an interest in new systems of non-formal education as well as in the coordination of adult education with community services and the development of educational technologies for older persons.
From the guide to the George F. Aker Papers, 1957-1985, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)
