Radford University faculty member presented outstanding professor award, research awards
Radford University associate professor of Recreation, Parks and Tourism Josh Carroll, Ph.D., was the recipient of the Outstanding Professor Award and two Excellence in Research Awards given by the Resort and Commercial Recreation Association (RCRA) at its virtual national conference in November.
RCRA’s Outstanding Professor Award recognizes a faculty member’s commitment and excellence in delivering education for the commercial recreation profession.
“Dr. Joshua Carroll is an exceptional human being and dedicated member of our association,” RCRA said. “Not only has he inspired his students through a worldwide pandemic; he also has been one of the forces behind the publication of the “Journal of Tourism Insights.”
RCRA noted Carroll’s dedication to helping its Education Committee stay connected through the COVID-19 global health pandemic and his assistance with a research study regarding COVID and recreation.
The Excellence in Research awards Carroll received recognize the “valuable contribution of a selected piece of research,” RCRA said, that is presented at the organization’s research symposium.
Carroll presented his research, “Fostering Well-rounded Students — Can Experiential Learning Help?” at the November 9-10 virtual conference.
The study used the Integrative Complexity scalar measure to conduct a pre- and post-test on students enrolled in a four-week experiential tourism course.
“Findings from this project can be of value to educators and reveal that field learning can have a significant role in helping to develop well-rounded, compassionate people, with an edge to help them succeed in an equally diverse world,” RCRA said.
Carroll’s second research award from RCRA came in recognition of his collaborative presentation, “COVID-19: Impacts on Resort Recreation.” Carroll and faculty from various universities developed a survey and gathered data during the coronavirus pandemic. Thirty surveys were analyzed with descriptive statistics on the pandemic’s impact on recreation.
“I am so honored to receive these awards,” Carroll said. “In a year where we all have faced trying times this was a wonderful moment that helped reaffirm the broad positive impacts our work can have as professors and researchers.”
Carroll joined the Radford University Department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism in August 2013.
He teaches courses in commercial recreation, sustainable tourism, research methods in recreation and tourism, tourism and event marketing, and professional advancement in tourism. He also has taught the popular Tourism Institute, a field course that over the years has taken students to the Bahamas and France, as well as recreation and tourism destinations in the mountains and beach towns.
For the past eight years, Carroll has been an active member of RCRA, an organization dedicated to promoting professional development, creative resources and networking opportunities to students, educators and professionals in the recreation industry.
“Josh has been incredibly engaged with RCRA, and that spells benefits for our students,” said Recreation, Parks and Tourism chair Jim Newman, Ph.D. “He is always looking for new ways to involve them with their professional colleagues.”