Violet Malone

Hall of Fame Class of 1999

The contributions of Violet Malone to the field of adult and continuing education are significant and far reaching. As a professor and department head of adult and higher education in the Woodring College of Education at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, she continues to teach a generation of leaders in the field. She came to WWU in 1991 as head of the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations after serving as the head of Extension Education in the College of Agriculture at the University of Illinois. She received her Ph.D. in higher education in 1973 from Florida State University.

Dr. Malone has been involved in change leadership throughout her career. She has conducted short courses, workshops, and seminars on Learning in Adulthood, Changes and Transitions Across the Lifespan, Leadership in Community-Based Organizations, Voluntary

Work, Teaching and Learning in Adulthood, and "Good Leaders Maker Great Lovers" series. She has taught and interacted nationally and internationally with adult and continuing educators, conducting experiential learning sessions with men and women in Sri Lanka, Jordan, Kenya, Zambia, Belize, several Caribbean islands, Canada, the Netherlands, and virtually every U.S. state. Much of her work with these groups has focused on training trainers and developing leadership skills. Indeed, her development of those who will occupy leadership positions in continuing education will certainly be a lasting and profound contribution to the field.

She is the former President of the Adult Education Association of the USA and former Chairperson of the National Coalition for Literacy and has served on the American Bar Association's Task Force on Literacy. She appears in Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Women.

Dr. Malone is a widely published author and speaker. Her work on experiential learning and case study research methods has been disseminated through publications, teaching, and the presentation of papers in several countries. Most recently, she was awarded the Community Leadership Award (1999) from the American Business Women's Association of Whatcom County (WA).