OWLS department honored with AAACE's Malcolm Knowles Award

By Jack McClellan
Office of Media Relations
November 6, 2017

The Department of Occupational, Workforce and Leadership Studies (OWLS) at Texas State University was honored with the Malcolm Knowles Award for Outstanding Adult Education Program Leadership by the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE).

The award was presented November 1 during the AAACE annual conference in Memphis. Texas State faculty members Carrie Boden-McGill and Catherine Cherrstrom, professor and assistant professor, respectively, in the OWLS department, received the award.

The award focused on the Bachelor of Applied Arts and Science degree available through the OWLS department. The degree program encourages adult and continuing students by allowing them to earn credit through prior learning assessment (PLA).

The AAACE honored Texas State because the program provides a pathway for non-traditional students to earn a college degree, including earning credit for knowledge and skills gained outside the classroom through PLA.

The award was established in the name of Malcolm Knowles for his contribution to the theory and practice of adult education, including his popularization of the theory of andragogy, the art and science of helping adults learn. The Malcolm Knowles Award is intended to give recognition to an adult program--including the personnel responsible--for carrying out that program, in accordance with the andragogical process.

About Texas State University

Founded in 1899, Texas State University is among the largest universities in Texas with an enrollment of 38,694 students on campuses in San Marcos and Round Rock. Texas State’s 181,000-plus alumni are a powerful force in serving the economic workforce needs of Texas and throughout the world. Designated an Emerging Research University by the State of Texas, Texas State is classified under “Doctoral Universities: Higher Research Activity,” the second-highest designation for research institutions under the Carnegie classification system.