Robert A. Frederick is a historian with an interest in Colonel Richard Lieber, who played a significant role in creating and shaping both the Indiana State Park System and the national park system. His dissertation, "Colonel Richard Lieber, Conservationist and Park Builder: The Indiana Years," completed as part of his history doctorate at Indiana University, sparked his lifelong interest in Lieber.

Richard Lieber, 1869-1944, was a German-American businessman and conservationist. In his early 20's, he settled in Indianapolis, Indiana; his first American job was reporting for the Indiana Tribune. His extensive travels throughout the American West inspired his passion for parks, both national and state. Lieber began acquiring park spaces throughout Indiana in 1916 with private funds, serving as chairman to the State Parks Committee which he had pushed Governor Samuel M. Ralston to create. He became Conservation Commission Chairman in 1919, leading the Department of Conservation that he had convinced Governor Goodrich to create. The Indiana park system, which Lieber was significantly responsible for building and maintaining, became a model for other parks throughout America.