Family of Dr. Ronald K. Edwards

Ronald K Edwards Ph.D. was a loving husband and father and an inspired and devoted educator who was a long time LCC faculty member and Department Chair of Accounting and Office Programs.

“I never met him, but I had to come and pay my respects”, said a woman with a slight smile. She went on to explain how she was having problems with her Economics class at LCC when a classmate, Ronda Edwards, suggested she call her dad, Dr. Edwards. Reluctantly the woman did so and was amazed at the amount of time he spent with her on the phone, listening to her problem and explaining how to work through it over and over and over again until it was clear that she understood it. There were many similar stories told during the days of my dad’s visitation and funeral that I had never heard before. To me, he had always been a great father, but to many others, he was a great man. This was confirmed to me by people I had never even met.
“I’ve worked at LCC for 30 years and your dad was my first supervisor and by far the best. He was a world-class individual.”
“My daughter has cerebral palsy. Your dad took the time to teach her to type with one hand. She was able to go on and get several jobs because of that.”

I knew about his work with AVT and of the textbooks he wrote, but I was unaware of all the little stories of how he, as an educator, affected so many other people. Education was a passion for my dad and Lansing Community College was a true source of pride. I remember feeling hurt because some kids at school called LCC “Last Chance College” and my dad thought that was great. He explained to me the importance that LCC played in many people’s lives. In many cases LCC wasn’t just their last chance, it was their ONLY chance, and it was the college’s job to make sure these people succeed. He also said it was quite commonplace to see LCC students score higher on the CPA Exam than students from U of M. This was an indication that what they were doing was working.

It was because of his commitment to the community college mission that we, as a family, have decided to create the Ronald K. Edwards Memorial Scholarship through the LCC Foundation in his honor.