UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management (RPTM) Department Head Lauren Duffy and Suzie and Allen Martin Professor Derrick Taff received national honors, being named fellows at The Academy of Leisure Sciences (TALS) 2026 conference, held Feb. 11-13 in Philadelphia.
In addition to Duffy and Taff, past distinguished TALS fellows while faculty at Penn State include Geoffrey Godbey, Betty van der Smissen, John Dattilo, Garry Chick, Linda Caldwell, Alan Graefe, Deborah Kerstetter, Bing Pan, Andy Mowen and Peter Newman.
Lauren Duffy, TALS fellow
Duffy’s research is grounded in critical tourism, leisure behavior, cultural geography and sustainability studies. Her work has focused on several topics, including understanding how issues of equity and power play out in tourism development; rural and community-based tourism planning; tourism and conservation; local food systems and food socialization; leisure and technology; and resident-tourist relationships.
Duffy has received recognition within the discipline at the national level for both teaching excellence and innovation, as well as her research in issues related to the production of knowledge, critical thinking, global learning, transformative learning and internationalization.
In 2022-23, Duffy was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar in Saint Lucia, working at Sir Arthur Lewis Community College in its Department of Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality. Her work during this experience examined the resilience of the tourism industry and how labor and tourism policy affect the well-being of workers in the informal tourism sector.
Duffy also is a fellow with Tourism RESET, a multi-university and interdisciplinary research and outreach initiative that seeks to identify, study and challenge patterns of social inequity in the tourism industry.
She was awarded both the Excellence in Teaching Award and Innovation in Teaching Award from TALS in 2020 and served as president of TALS from 2022 to 2025.
"It is an honor to be recognized as a fellow of TALS, an organization whose mission is to empower educators and researchers who steward the value of leisure through advocacy, knowledge creation and education,” Duffy said. “I am humbled to represent the department and continue the tradition that RPTM has long played in shaping leisure science education and research around the world."
Derrick Taff, TALS fellow
Throughout his career, Taff's research has strived to improve the understanding of communication strategies aimed at influencing human and environmental health regarding protected areas, while focusing on how to positively influence human perceptions and behaviors that promote social and ecological well-being.
Interests of Taff’s research include human behavior, communication and well-being; “healthy parks healthy people” research; nature-based recreation and leisure engagement of protected area visitors and military service member populations; and well-being and natural sounds.
Since 2009, Taff has been involved with Leave No Trace research and served as a visiting scholar with Leave No Trace in 2023; he is currently serving as the organization’s science adviser. Taff has previous stints working for the National Park Service in Rocky Mountain National Park and at the Denver Service Center. He served as Rocky Mountain National Park’s scholar in residence in 2023.
“I am extremely honored by this award, and I look forward to continuing the legacy of applied, meaningful science demonstrated by previous and current TALS fellows, many of whom have mentored me during my time here at Penn State,” Taff said. “I am extremely grateful to follow their extraordinary work, advancing our field of research.”