John H Falk is the founder and principal researcher of the Institute for Learning Innovation, a prolific author, a pre-eminent social scientist, a leading expert on free-choice learning, and a renowned authority on the public use of museums.
Falk has authored over 200 scholarly articles and has written, co-written or edited more than 25 books. His most recent release was “The Value of Museums: Enhancing Societal Well -Being”, which was published in 2021, and has been described as “genuinely valuable – for the entire field and decision-makers” by Mikko Myllykoski, CEO of Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre and “a game changer for cultural institutions looking to measure the importance of their work,” by Trevor Jones, director and CEO of History Nebraska.
One person who nominated Falk said: “This individual continues to push the boundaries of museums by developing innovative ways to define and measure institutional value. His recent approach to measuring and monetizing well-being promises to dramatically change how museums justify their value.”
Falk founded the Institute for Learning Innovation, a nonprofit that has been working for over 30 years to support lifelong, free-choice learning. The Institute works with a broad range of individuals, organizations, and communities around the world to improve access to learning, and undertakes research projects which seek to expand our understanding of how people learn across their lifespan.
He is Sea Grant Professor Emeritus of Free-Choice Learning at Oregon State University and has earned doctorates in both educational psychology and ecology from the University of California, Berkeley.
Falk’s awards include the Leadership Award for Significant and Lasting Impact, Western Museums Association (2022); NARST: A worldwide organization for improving science teaching and learning through research, Distinguished Career Award (2016); Oregon State University, University Outreach and Engagement Vice Provost Award for Excellence, Innovation-Partnerships Award (2016); Council of Scientific Society Presidents Award for Educational Research (2013) and American Alliance of Museums John Cotton Dana Award for Leadership (2010).
He was named in Marquis Who’s Who in America for 15 consecutive years (2001-2015) and in News Digest International’s “Who’s Who” of Academia in 2013 and 2014. In 2006, Falk was recognised as one of the 100 most influential individuals of the museum community (1906-2006) in the American Association of Museums’ Centennial Honor Roll.