International Adult and Continuing Education Hall of Fame - Oklahoma Center of Continuing Education at the University of Oklahoma

Joseph Matthews

Early in his career, Joseph Matthews served as Administrative Assistant in the Agricultural Extension Service, Texas A&M University, and as Staff Training Specialist, and County Agricultural Agent. He then joined the USDA Federal Extension Service where he was in charge of the Educational Research Branch. He then became Chief of the Program Research Branch, Assistant Director and later Director of the Division of Extension Research and Training, and Assistant Administrator for International Programs.

Throughout this period, he taught part time as an Associate Professor of Agricultural Extension Methods at Texas A&M University. He also taught graduate courses in evaluation and program development in regional summer schools at the University of Arkansas, Prairie View A&M, and the University of Wisconsin.

He also served on the Fund for Adult Education's National Committee on Study Grants, the Publications Committee of AEA/USA, and the USDA Graduate School's Committee on Academic Excellence.

He was a much sought after advisor on foreign education matters and consulted in Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, the Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Ecuador, Peru, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Thailand, Jordan, and Vietnam.