Robert Luke was an American educator specializing in adult education. He served as Chair of the Community Organization Committee of the American Association for Adult Education (AAAE) from 1947 to 1948 and as Associate Executive Secretary of the Department of Adult Education of the National Education Association (NEA) from 1949 to 1951. In 1950, he was a member of the joint committee that laid out the structure for what would become the Adult Education Association of the United States (AEA/USA). He was also a member of the Coalition of Adult Education Organizations and a member of the Planning Committee for the 1969 Galaxy Conference of Adult Education Organizations. From 1964 to 1975, Dr. Luke served as International Secretary of the Adult Education Committee of the World Confederation of Organizations of the Teaching Profession. He was member (1984-1986) and then Chair (1986-1988) of the AAACE Publications Standing Service Unit.
Dr. Luke authored a number of articles, monographs, books, handbooks, and pamphlets over his career, including several for teachers (and trainers of teachers) of deaf adults (published under the auspices of Gallaudet University in Washington, DC) and a number focusing on inservice teacher education. As executive secretary of the Adult Education Council of Metropolitan Cincinnati, he chaired the Committee on Community Organization of the American Association for Adult Education which produced the paper, "Community Education in Action" (1948). He was the author of The NEA and Adult Education: A Historical Review 1921-1972, a research project that compiled the history and accomplishments of the National Education Association and which contributed greatly to the heritage of adult and continuing education. His editorship of The Teaching Profession and the Worldwide Literacy Program impacted the scene of adult and continuing education beyond the boundaries of the United States.
Robert Luke received many awards for his outstanding contributions to the field of continuing education. In 1987, the AAACE awarded him its Outstanding Service Medallion and in 1988 he received the AAACE President's Award for his exceptional leadership in adult and continuing education. He was inducted into the International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame in 2000.
From the guide to the Robert A. Luke Papers, 1925-1990, 1955-1980, (Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries)
