Lawrence H. Ganong, University of Missouri professor and co-chair of MU's Human Development and Family Studies department, was awarded the 2014 Friend of the Great Plains IDEA Award. Ganong, along with Maurice MacDonald, of Kansas State University, received the award for guiding a new online program and inspiring faculty commitment to human science degrees of the Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance (Great Plains IDEA). The honor came at the Great Plains IDEA annual meeting April 7, 2014, in Kansas City, Mo.
The two men have worked together and led department chairs involving three inter-institutional human sciences programs of the Great Plains IDEA: Youth Development, Family Financial Planning and — a new offering — Family and Community Services.
"Ganong and MacDonald have managed to lead with a sense of mission and dose of humor that has contributed greatly to the recent success and growth of the entire GPIDEA," said Charlotte Shoup Olsen, Kansas State University faculty teaching for the alliance Youth Development program.
Oklahoma State University faculty Glade Topham, who participates in alliance Family and Community Services programming, said: "Larry and Morey brought experience and wisdom to the process that quickly earned the respect of team members. …Both men are self-effacing, unassuming and gentle and effectively utilized humor throughout the process. These characteristics allowed them to prevent and quickly diffuse tension on challenging issues while bringing the group to unanimous agreement on the important issues."
The University of Missouri participates in four of the eight Great Plains IDEA human sciences programs and four of the 10 agriculture programs. There are 20 member institutions in Great Plains IDEA. Students enroll in one alliance university as a home institution. Students then take online courses from any of the universities in the alliance offering their program of study.
For more information about the award, contact Carol Gould, executive director Great Plains Interactive Distance Education Alliance at cgould@ksu.edu, or 785-532-6848.