2014 Distinguished Staff
Russian, Social Studies.
Native of Valley Falls, Kansas, Larry Lonard graduated with honors from Emporia State University in 1966, majoring in Russian and German. He then spent a year at the University of Wisconsin, a graduate fellowship, and taught German at a Wisconsin high school, 1967-68. Returning to Kansas Lonard obtained a Master of Arts degree in Russian language and literature from KU. From 1973 to 2005 he offered four levels of Russian at Topeka High. He also taught AP European History, World Literature, Western Civilization and German. He oversaw (1980-98) a sister school exchange program with School #62 in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Involved in numerous programs relating to Russian culture (e.g., Summer Fulbright Program to Siberia, 1998) the Russian Ministry of Culture and Russian Embassy recognized Lonard in 2010 “for contribution to the study of Russian language and culture in the USA”. In 1995 he was a consultant for Topeka’s Treasures of the Czars Exhibit. Both his son and daughter are Topeka High graduates.