Dr. Guyer: A leader for the common good

The board of directors of the Great Lakes Leadership Academy (GLLA) has announced that they will be recognizing Dr. Gordon Guyer with the William Milliken Leadership for the Common Good Award. Dr. Guyer is well known to those of us in Michigan State University Extension. He served as director of MSUE from 1973 to 1985 and has provided leadership in many other ways: as department chairperson for the Department of Entomology, director of the MSU Pesticide Research Center, director of the Michigan Department of Agriculture, director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the 18th President of MSU. Dr. Guyer has served on numerous boards of directors and remains a frequent source of advice and insight to leaders in agriculture, natural resources and higher education in Michigan and beyond. A lengthier and more detailed citation will be published later in association with the banquet at which Dr. Guyer will be recognized.

 Today I wanted to call this to your attention and encourage you to consider attending the banquet at which Dr. Guyer will be recognized on Friday, September 17. The event begins with a reception at 6:00 p.m., and dinner follows at 7:00 p.m. The event will be held at the Lansing Center. In addition to Dr. Guyer’s recognition, the banquet will feature a keynote speech by Richard Longworth, author of Caught in the Middle, America’s Heartland in the Age of Globalism. Mr. Longworth’s book is a sobering analysis of the importance of global economic changes on the Midwest’s dependence on agriculture and manufacturing for economic prosperity and how we can respond to those changes.

 Tickets for the event are $125 (this is a fund-raiser for GLLA, so $100 is tax deductible) or $625 for a table of six ($425 tax deductible) and can be purchased online at www.GLLA.msu.edu/giving.html. This is a great way to support leadership development as part of MSUE’s work and to recognize an individual who has been critical to the development and success of MSUE. If you’re not able to attend the banquet but wish to send congratulations to Dr. Guyer, you can reach him at guyerg@msu.edu.