W. Franklin Spikes is a past Fellow in Academic Administration for the American Council on Education (ACE) and the Project for the Study of Adult Learning at Illinois State University. He was also named Outstanding Alumni in Leadership and Educational Policy Studies at Northern Illinois University, cited as an Outstanding Young Man in America and in Who's Who in American Education, Who's Who in the Midwest, and Who's Who in the Southwest. As President of the American Association for Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) in 1991-1992, he provided leadership to resolve the many challenges the Association faced. In addition to his work with AAACE and its parent organizations, NAPCAE and AEA, he has been actively involved with and has given leadership to a number of other national professional associations including ACE and its Program on Noncollegiate Sponsored Instruction and the American Society for Training and Development and its state and regional chapters and affiliates. He also serves as a consultant to major corporations and federal government agencies.
He is the author of numerous publications and professional papers in the field of adult and continuing education which have been presented throughout North America, in Great Britain, Europe, and Russia.