Cyril O. Houle (1913-1998)

Internationally recognized for his work in adult education, Cyril O. Houle was professor emeritus of education at the University of Chicago and an expert on adult education. He spent 60 years in the field at the University of Chicago and with the W. K. Kellogg Foundation in Battle Creek, Michigan. During his time at the University of Chicago, Houle engaged in research and graduate level teaching in adult and higher education and served as dean of University College, the university's extension division. He worked with the Kellogg Foundation as program advisor and senior program consultant.

Cyril O. Houle has studied adult education in 35 countries and was a visiting faculty member at several universities. In addition, he served as a member of national and international commissions. His many honors and awards included the Tolley medal and honorary doctorates from eleven universities. Houle was the author of numerous books and other publications including The Inquiring Mind, Design of Education, Continuing Learning in the Professions, and Patterns of Learning. The W. K. Kellogg Foundation regarded the creation of the Cyril O. Houle Scholars in Adult and Continuing Education Program to be one of his major honors.

In the future even more than in the past, the meeting of needs and the satisfaction of desires will necessitate creativeness, the expenditure of individual and social effort, and the use of sophisticated thought about education.
(Cyril O. Houle, The Design of Education, 1996, p. 249)

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