Rick Wilke

Dr. Richard ‘Rick’ Wilke is an emeritus University of Wisconsin System Distinguished Professor of Environmental Education in the College of Natural Resources at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Resource Management, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Education. Dr. Wilke has been President of NAAEE, a member of the North American Commission on Environmental Education Research, and a consulting editor for the Journal of Environmental Education. He served as Director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National EE Training Program (EETAP) for ten years. He has authored over 50 articles and four books on environmental education. Dr. Wilke has made over 100 presentations on environmental education at state, national, and international conferences and workshops and has led environmental education foreign study programs in Latin America, Europe, Australia, and Asia. He has served as the committee chair and thesis supervisor for over 55 graduate students in environmental education and teaches graduate courses in environmental education. Dr. Wilke has also taught environmental studies at the high school level and was the first director of the Central Wisconsin Environmental Station. He has been the principal investigator for grants and contracts with a total value in excess of 28 million dollars. Dr. Wilke has directed six National Science Foundation- and U.S. Department of Education-supported projects for teacher training in environmental education and six grants and contracts from the U.S. EPA for environmental education training. Dr. Wilke provided leadership in efforts to obtain several statewide environmental education initiatives in Wisconsin. The initiatives include a pre-service teacher-training requirement, school district EE curriculum requirement, a state environmental education board, environmental education grants program, and legislatively mandated environmental literacy assessments for teachers and students. He chaired the Council of State Governments Committee that developed Model State Environmental Education Legislation. He is the former co-director of the National Environmental Education Advancement Project, which assisted states in their efforts to build capacity to support environmental education programs. In 1991, U.S. EPA Administrator, William Reilly, appointed Dr. Wilke to chair the newly created National Environmental Education Advisory Council. He was reappointed chair by U.S. EPA Administrator Carol Browner and served on the Council until 1997. Dr. Wilke was the first faculty member in the history of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to receive all three of the major campus awards for teaching, scholarship, and service. He is the recipient of numerous other awards from external groups. Among these are the Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Distinguished Service Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Jeske Award from the North American Association for Environmental Education, Aldo Leopold Award from the Wisconsin Association for Environmental Education, and Outstanding Contributions Awards from the Izaak Walton League, Soil Conservation Society, Wisconsin Land Conservation Association, and Wisconsin Federation of Garden Clubs.