Outdoor Education Faculty & Staff Members

Elizabeth Andre

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Title: Assistant Professor of Outdoor Education
Office Location: Wheeler 313
Phone: (715) 682-1324
Email: eandre@northland.edu

Education

• Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
• M.A., Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia
• B.A., Iowa State University

Profile

I came to Northland from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis where I taught outdoor and environmental education and helped develop the annual Institute on Education for Sustainable Futures. I also worked as an educational consultant, curriculum writer, and expedition member for the Will Steger Foundation, focused on using Steger\'s polar expeditions to educate the public about climate change. I instruct wilderness expeditions for Outward Bound Wilderness and, previously, for the University of Montana\'s Wild Rockies Field Institute.

Building on my master\'s work in Outdoor Education, these scholarly and professional experiences feed my interest in ways to combine the best aspects of both Outdoor and Environmental Education. I want to see Outdoor Education programs fulfill their potential to teach not just in the outdoors, but for the outdoors and for the total environment. I also want to see Environmental Education programs more skillfully incorporate outdoor experiences into the curriculum to promote healthy and caring relationships with the natural world. Through my service on the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors for the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education, I work to keep environmental concerns in the forefront of the outdoor profession and industry.

My writing and research also explore how environmentalists (and others who deal with complex issues) can foster true hope without being naively optimistic. This topic resonates at Northland, which is widely known and respected among those who envision a more a sustainable and just world and who believe in the role of higher education in crafting this future.

I believe it is important to not only know about the environment, but to personally know the natural world, as a friend. To this end I try to balance my time indoors reading, thinking, writing, and teaching about the environment with my time playing outdoors. I canoe, kayak, climb, hike, ski, dogsled, and daydream outdoors. I enjoy sharing these experiences with students.

Dr. Elizabeth Andre, Assistant Professor of Outdoor Education, is currently serving as the President of the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE), a professional association for academics and practitioners in college, university, military, and municipal recreation programs. The AORE has over 600 members who, collectively, provide outdoor programming for over three million people a year. Andre joined the Board of Directors of the AORE in 2009, served as Secretary from 2010 - 2011, and President from 2011 - 2012, and will continue serving as Immediate Past President until the end of 2013. While Andre has been serving on the board, the AORE has grown its membership to record levels, increased membership retention across all membership categories, hired its first Executive Director, established its first physical office space, established memorandums of understanding with multiple allied organizations, published its first textbook, and grown its academic journal, The Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership. Each year Andre brings Northland students with her to the national conference of the AORE where they are able to attend educational sessions, network, interview for positions, and have their resumes critiqued by professionals.

Research

• Andre, E. (2012). It's time for a global ethic; not just local etiquette. In Wagstaff, M. & Martin, B. (Eds.) Controversial Issues in Adventure Programming. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.

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