Dr. Donald Hanway served in the University of Nebraska Agronomy Department. He helped build strong agronomy teaching, research and extension programs in Nebraska. Don was a respected adviser to seed and certification industries; a counselor to crop commodity organizations; an active proponent for integrated conservation production systems and interdisciplinary extension-research programs; and an experienced and effective leader of technical aid programs in developing countries.
I am honored to have the privilege of visiting with you for a few minutes this evening about Dr. Donald Hanway, the 1988 Honoree of the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement and a long-time friend of mine.
Don and I shared many experiences. We were fellow graduate students at the University of Nebraska and at Iowa State College from 1946 to 1954. I should explain that the long time we spent in graduate school (8 years) resulted from our having families and going to school on a part-time basis. For the next 30 years we were members of the same departmental faculty with Don serving as chairman much of that time.
I relate this history to assure you that I know something about Don and his contributions to Nebraska's agriculture.
Donald Hanway was born August 6, 1918, on a dryland farm near Broadwater, Nebraska. (Broadwater is about 45 miles downstream from Scottsbluff on the North Platte River.) He attended a rural elementary school and was graduated from the Bridgeport High School. With encouragement from one of his teachers and the financial assistance of a Regents Scholarship he enrolled in the University of Nebraska Teachers College in 1935. (Many of you remember well that in the mid-thirties is was not easy for a young person to start college. From my work with students, I am well aware that for many, it isn't easy today. Don has mentioned on several occasions that the scholarship and one of his teachers were key factors in his going to college. My point is that if you want to make a lasting and positive impact, consider establishing a scholarship for students from your community or for the general scholarship fund of your favorite institution. And, more important, visit with young people about continuing their education. End of that lecture and now back to Don." From 1936 to 1940 he taught rural schools in Morrill County. Don enjoyed teaching and concluded that agriculture should be his specialty. He transferred to the College of Agriculture in the fall of 1940, his goal a Vocational Agriculture teaching certificate. But there was to be a delay. He was awarded the Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture after induction into the Army. (The University waived certain requirements for students who entered military service.) Don advanced to rank of Captain as a radar officer in the Army Air Corps.
In January 1946 Don returned to the College of Agriculture. By the time that he completed requirements for the Vocational Agriculture teaching certificate, he was assisting in Agronomy classes and starting a Master of Science degree program. With receipt of the MS degree in 1948 he was appointed to the staff to teach Agronomy 1, Crop Production, along with Dr. T.H. Goodding and to assist Dr. Frank Keim in teaching Agronomy 105, Genetics. For research he was assigned soybean production. Both Keim and Hanway believed that with some good research and extension effort soybeans could become a major crop in Nebraska. They were correct. Nebraskans planted 26,000 acres of soybeans in 1948 and harvested 23 bushels per acre. In 1987 they planted 2,350,000 acres with an average yield of 35.5 bushels per acre.
Leaves of absence permitted Don to complete course work at Iowa State College by 1952 which led to a Ph.D. degree in Agronomy (Plant Breeding) in 1954. With Don as advisor during this period of the University of Nebraska Agronomy Club was recognized as the top student club in the nation. This success was a big stimulus for the Club. It has continued to rank well nationally since then.
Teaching classes, taking graduate courses, conducting research, advising the Agronomy Club and being a good husband and father all at the same time, that takes lots of talent, energy and management skills, traits administrators look for. In 1955 Don was promoted to Associate Professor and appointed Chairman of the Agronomy Department, a role he played until 1976 except for two years (1965 to 1967) when he was Chief of Party for the University of Nebraska project to help establish Ataturk University in eastern Turkey. Agronomic sciences advanced rapidly during this 21-year period.
Don strongly supported effective teaching as enrollment at both undergraduate and graduate levels increased greatly. Several members of his staff were recognized locally and nationally for outstanding teaching.
In research the wheat breeding, crop physiology, weed science, soil fertility management in dryland and irrigation farming, and quantitative genetics programs received international recognition. Expanded programs in range and pasture management improved range conditions across the state and boosted beef production. Don continued emphasis on soil and water conservation. Release of improved varieties of all of our major crops and forages along with improved management boosted productivity of Nebraska agriculture during this period, firm evidence that the scientific advances being made by researchers were being effectively applied on Nebraska farms. As Extension Crops Specialist from 1976 to 1984 Don continued to use his intimate acquaintance with conditions across the state to good advantage. He has been recognized for many years as being unusually well informed about most aspects of Nebraska's agriculture. If someone made a point of the dollar value of the beef animals sold for slaughter, Don could spell out the acres of pasture, bushels of grain, tons of hay and silage and other crop products needed to nourish those animals.
When Don recognized that the Outstate Testing program with only Lincoln-based staff could be serve the diverse areas of applied research needs across Nebraska, he fostered the organization of the state into five extension-research districts. District specialists as members of on-campus departments comprise integrated, interdisciplinary teams to carry out adaptive research to fit rapidly advancing technologies to the widely diverse agricultural areas of Nebraska. This organization has drawn regional and national attention. He obtained funding to greatly increase the number and quality of technicians supporting agronomic scientists.
Don played a major role in marshalling support across the state for an appropriation to construct new headhouse-greenhouse facilities and the Plant Sciences Building with its innovative and expanded teaching, extension, research, and office facilities for Agronomy and for the Horticulture and Plant Pathology Departments. Many of you here tonight had important roles in the campaign for those facilities.
Don assisted soybean, corn and grain sorghum producers in establishing state associations. He provided counsel for each of these along with wheat as they established checkoff programs to support research, marketing and promotional activities. His working associations with the seed trade, seed certification, variety improvement, and variety protection have led to industry recognition and awards for effective service. He was actively involved in interagency programs of soil conservation and dryland farming the Great Plains that led to repeated roles in summarizing major regional workshops and conferences.
International assignments have taken Don to Nigeria, Colombia, Morocco, and Tunisia in addition to his two-year assignment in Turkey. In 1976 he led the team that drafted the Dryland Farming Project in Morocco. He served as stateside coordinator from 1980 to 1982 as activities were initiated. This continues as a very active and effective development project in an area of great need.
Our purpose tonight is to recognize Don's contributions to Nebraska's agriculture, but we would be remiss if we did not point out that his concerns and continuing efforts reach far beyond our state borders and are not restricted to agriculture. His retirement in 1984 opened new opportunities to be of service. For two years he served as lobbyist for the Nebraska State Grange. In 1986 he was appointed to a 3-year term on the Nebraska Commission on the Status of Women where he is chair of the Legislative Committee. Until recently he served as ex-officio board member of the Nebraska Grain Sorghum Producers Association. In 1987 Don was appointed to a 2-year term on the Plant Variety Protection Advisory Board of the U.S. Department of Agriculture and chairs one of the committees.
Don has been active the past three years in planning for the observance of World Food Day on October 16. As a member of Bread for the World, he has made several presentations relating to the world's population explosion and related problems of food, agriculture, and natural resources. He is a member of the International Center being developed in the Old City Hall of Lincoln. He is a member of the boards for Lincoln chapters of the United Nations Association – USA and the League of Women Voters. Don is firmly convinced that each person has become a global citizen whether that person recognizes it or not. He is concerned about the kind of world in which his grandchildren will live.
It is easy to see that his professionally career and his personal life have been dedicated to education and service to the state, nation, and mankind.
RESUME
DONALD G. HANWAY
Dr. D.G. Hanway, Professor, Extension Crops Specialist and Morocco Project Coordinator, has been a member of the Agronomy Department Staff, University of Nebraska, for over 30 years. From 1955 to 1976 he served as department chairman, except for 1965-67 when he was party leader of the Nebraska mission helping establish Ataturk University in Turkey. In 1976 he led a six-man team to Morocco to develop plans for an applied research program for their dryland farming areas. In 1980 he was appointed stateside coordinator, part-time, of the Morocco Dryland Fanning Project under an AID contract of the Midamerica International Agriculture Consortium with the University of Nebraska as lead institution.
In his role as Extension Crops Specialist, he is helping farmers improve their crop production systems based on research that guides adaptation of new technologies to Nebraska conditions. He works closely with soybean, grain sorghum, corn and wheat grower associations and checkoff boards.
Dr. Hanway was born in 1918 at Broadwater, Nebraska, and attended rural schools in Morrill County. In 1935 he was graduated from Bridgeport High School. That fall he enrolled in Teachers College at the University of Nebraska on a Regents Scholarship. From 1936 to 1940 he taught rural schools in Morrill County. He entered the College of Agriculture in 1940 and received his B.S. in Agriculture in 1942. In 1948 he was granted the M.S. degree in Agronomy by the University of Nebraska. He received his Ph.D. in plant breeding from Iowa State University in 1954.
From 1942-46 he served in the U.S. Army Air Force. He was discharged with rank of Captain after nearly two years in Italy as Radar Officer in the Fifteenth Air Force.
Dr. Hanway has been elected Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is a member of the Crop Science Society of America, the Soil Conservation Society of America, the American Institute of Biological Sciences and several other professional and honorary societies. He is a member of the Nebraska Hall of Agricultural Achievement. He is author of several journal articles and has been invited speaker at a number of scientific and professional meetings.
In 1942 Dr. Hanway married Blanche Larson of Lincoln. Their three children are all graduates of the University of Nebraska. Donald Jr. is rector of St. Marks on the Campus (Episcopal) in Lincoln. Wayne is Director of Libraries at Norfolk, Nebraska. Janice is a registered nurse on the staff of Lincoln General Hospital in Lincoln.
