Michael W. Galbraith
Hall of Fame Class of 2011
Michael W. Galbraith has contributed to the body of knowledge and practice in the field of adult education through his scholarship, teaching, and service for more than 25 years.
Galbraith has published extensively throughout his professional career. He has served as editor or author for 12 books. In addition, he has been the author/co-author of 24 book chapters and 70 refereed journal articles.
His notable achievement is not that he published continuously but how his writings have influenced the manner in which adult educators conduct their formal and non-formal instruction, how they administer adult education programs, how they select effective methods and techniques in their teaching, and how they can improve their instructional process as a faculty member in higher education.
Through his writing, Galbraith has always identified the gaps in present literature and then addressed these through his books and articles. For example, two of his books, Adult Learning Methods: A Guide for Effective Instruction and Administering Successful Programs for Adults, were published because of his judgment that this type of information was not available under one cover. Some of his published works have been translated into three different languages and used extensively in the international community.
His editorial experience is vast. For 14 years, he was the founding editor-in-chief of an international/national book series, Professional Practices in Adult Education and Human Resource Development. During that time, the series produced 34 books. Many of the individuals were first-time book authors who had wonderful ideas on how to improve practice. Galbraith’s guidance to these authors helped extend the body of knowledge into different arenas that otherwise might not be realized. His mentoring and encouragement to write for publication was also extended to his graduate students, 50 of whom have been successful in getting articles and books published.
Because of his scholarly insights and perspectives, he has served on various international and national refereed journal editorial boards such as Adult Education Quarterly, Educational Gerontology, Adult Learning, and Mentoring and Tutoring. He has taught or consulted with various international groups from Thailand, Belize, Haiti, Jordan, Canada, Germany, and Ethiopia, all of which came as a result of his scholarly writings.
In addition, he has served as adult education program chair and taught hundreds of national and international graduate students at four major universities. In his role as professor, he has promoted their growth and development and mentored them into the profession. Through his mentoring, many former students have engaged in very productive careers in the field. Galbraith has been a professor of leadership studies in the Graduate School of Education and Professional Development at Marshall University Graduate College in South Charleston, West Virginia, since 2001. Before that, he was on the faculty at Florida Atlantic University, Temple University, and University of Missouri-Columbia.
Galbraith has engaged in various leadership roles in the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE), including sitting on the board of directors, as well as chairing various units and committees. From 1987 to 1998, he was presented the AAACE Membership Award for recruiting the most individuals into the association. He has also been recognized by several state professional associations and presented the Outstanding Adult Educator Award from the Pennsylvania Association for Adult Continuing Education and the Missouri Association for Adult, Continuing, and Community Education.