RADFORD -- Fred Pierson, director of the RU Recreation, Parks and Tourism (RCPT) Experiential Learning Laboratory, recently received the Veteran/Statesman Award from the Association for Experiential Education (AEE).

The award is presented to someone with 12 or more years of involvement in experiential education. Pierson has been involved in the field since 1992 and is currently the treasurer of the AEE Mid-Atlantic Region, a position handed to him during a recent AEE conference in Harrisburg, Pa.

The AEE is a nonprofit, professional membership association dedicated to experiential education and students, educators and practitioners who use its philosophy.