Dr. Earl B. Russell served as professor and head of the ALEC Department from 1995 - 2000. He earned his Ph.D. in agricultural education from Ohio State University. He held previous academic appointments at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ohio State University, and the University of Georgia.

His primary focus since retiring from UNL has been as a writer. In 2013 he released his first book for a general audience, the tragicomic Cold Turkey at Nine: The Memoir of a Problem Child. In 2017 he released Meanderings and Mullings, a nonfiction book consisting of about 150 selected blog posts he wrote from 2011-2017. Both books are available through local book retailers, as well as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. His blog has about 8,000 followers worldwide. His commentaries have appeared in the New York Times, the Austin American-Statesman, and the Arizona Republic.

He and his wife Ellen live in Old Town Scottsdale, Arizona.