James M. Ridenour served as director of the Indiana Department of Natural Resources for eight years before becoming NPS director from April 1989 through January 1993. He helped found the Eppley Institute on Parks and Public Lands. He was director of administration of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, director of National Resources for Indiana, and was on the faculty at Purdue University before his National Park Service work. At Indiana University, he taught numerous classes on historic development, current status, and changing patterns of public policy in outdoor recreation.
As a teenage freshman, Ridenour was a student at DePauw University, but was encouraged by his great uncle, Dr. Garrett Eppley, then chair of the Indiana University Department of Recreation and Park Administration to transfer to IU. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees in recreation and park administration from Indiana University. He also holds a master's in public administration from Colorado University.
James M. Ridenour
