Dr. Ellen Drogin Rodgers is Associate Dean and Associate Professor in the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. Beyond her current position at Mason, she has served as acting dean, undergraduate/graduate program coordinator, Center for Recreation and Tourism Research and Policy Director, and Center for the Advancement of Well-Being Fellow. Prior to her employment with Mason, Dr. Drogin Rodgers held positions as a principal planner/research associate and Census Bureau liaison with the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission and as program coordinator at The University of Maryland.
She received her BA with honors in Recreation/Leisure Studies and Mathematics/Computer Science from Hood College; MA in Recreation (planning and research methodology) from The University of Maryland; and a PhD in Recreation and Parks (outdoor recreation behavior and natural resource management (specializing in management information systems, social and environmental psychology, and public administration/community systems planning) from The Pennsylvania State University.
Dr. Drogin Rodgers’ scholarship focuses on research and evaluative methodologies; the antecedents to and outcomes of participation in leisure; application of social and environmental psychology to engagement; and the ways such research informs community and park planning and management.
Enhancing dissemination of knowledge to a broad community, she is a founding officer for the National Environment and Recreation Research Association; has facilitated conference planning for the MRPA and VRPS, as well as NIRI and NERR; served on the editorial board for the Journal of Park and Recreation Administration for more than 27 years; and as a frequent journal reviewer and conference session coordinator. Dr. Drogin Rodgers has authored a body of research in refereed journals, book chapters, book-length monographs, and other publications; has secured well over $2,500,000 in extramural funding; and has delivered a broad range of scholarly presentations regionally, nationally, and internationally.
As a current member of The Academy of Leisure Sciences Board of Directors, Dr. Drogin Rodgers has actively worked on the ALA-ALS and Sagamore-Venture Challenge Grant Campaigns and membership committees. She has additionally served on the Board of Directors of SPRE and the NRPA Education Network, which included national awards committee chair, membership, and advocacy and policy development committees. She is currently an elected member of the Board of Directors, Scholarship Committee, and Governance/Legislative Chair for the Virginia Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, and serves as an accreditation visitor for the Council on Accreditation of Park, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions.
Dr. Drogin Rodgers has been recognized at Mason with the Outstanding Achievement Award, by Hood College as the 2017 Distinguished Alumni, and by The University of Maryland as an Outstanding Teacher and Outstanding Scholar-Practitioner. [current as of September 2018]