20 Feb 2017 Life’s purpose: UCA instructor provides help worldwide

by Donna Lampkin Stephens

Doug Isanhart’s philosophy of life is simple.

“I think we’re on this earth for one reason only, and that is to help people,” the Conway man said.

Isanhart, 70, is living out that philosophy through his extensive volunteer work with the United States Agency for International Development’s Farmer-to-Farmer program. Most of his projects have been administered by Winrock International in Little Rock.

The University of Central Arkansas lecturer, executive in residence with the College of Business Administration’s Marketing and Management Department, recently completed his 10th project — his first in Senegal — where he trained trainers in business operations planning.

What does he get out of his efforts?

“Just a better understanding of other cultures, other political systems, the infrastructure,” Isanhart said. “And also just confirmation that all children are beautiful, that people do care about their families, and everyone wants to do better.”

F2F, begun in 1985, has completed more than 16,000 volunteer assignments in more than 110 countries with nearly 1 million farmer families — representing about 47 million people — directly benefitted. Since 1985, the program has provided direct hands-on training to more than 1.2 million people.

The program relies on the expertise of volunteers from U.S. farms, land grant universities, cooperatives, private agribusinesses and nonprofit farm organizations to respond to the local needs of host-country farmers and organizations.

Areas of major focus include horticulture, dairy and livestock, staple food crops, producer organization development, financial services, marketing and processing, agricultural education and training, and natural resources management.

EARLY YEARS

Born in Michigan, Isanhart attended a one-room school before going on to Central Michigan University, where he played football and baseball and earned a degree in business management.

After graduation, he entered the administrative trainee program at Gerber Products Corp. headquarters, working for the baby food company for 26 years. “That’s how I got to Arkansas (in 1992),” he said. “We had a lot of relocations — Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Arkansas.”

Along the way, he and his wife of 48 years, Mary Jo, had four children. In 1995, Isanhart said, the Gerber company was sold, and a big purge followed. “My job was eliminating people I’d worked with for all those years,” he said. “Once I finished the purge, it was my turn. But it freed up my future.”

By then, his family was living in Van Buren. His two youngest children, then in high school, had attended 11 different schools, so he decided to allow them to graduate from Van Buren High School. He went to work at what was then Westark Community College’s business/industrial institute as a manufacturing specialist.

One of his clients, a toy company in Booneville, became his next employer. “After I ran the toy factory for a year and a half, they wanted me to start firing people,” he said. “I told them, ‘I don’t want to do that. Why don’t you sever me, and I’ll be on my way? We can save four or five workers for whatever I make.’”

A MOVE TO THE 501

Isanhart decided he wanted to teach in higher education. “My kids were out of school and were enrolled at UCA,” he said. “We didn’t have the financial needs anymore, so I came to UCA to work on my master’s.”

At 54, he was named the UCA College of Business Outstanding Graduate Student for 2000-01. “I was the old guy, and it was intimidating,” he remembered. “I was in the library every night. I said, ‘I am not going to let these young kids beat me.’”

After earning his MBA (with a 4.0 GPA) in the spring of 2001, his plans were to teach at a junior college somewhere. “But right about that time, a young, first-year teacher in Management wasn’t rehired,” he said. “The department chair came to me and said, ‘You don’t have a Ph.D.; you can’t get tenure; you can only teach temporarily. Would you entertain that?’

“I said, ‘Oh, gosh, that would be great.’”

Isanhart taught four classes of Management Information Systems in the fall of 2001. “One year passed, and they renewed me,” he said. “They told me, ‘You can’t get tenure.’ I was teaching more and making less, but I liked it.”

His title now is Lecturer I. Isanhart is now in his 16th year teaching at UCA.

“What makes it meaningful is the students,” he said. “I really enjoy it . . . I like the lifestyle here; my wife and I enjoy all the activities — athletics and everything at Reynolds Performance Hall.”

WORK WITH USAID

In 1996, while at Westark, Isanhart was contacted by some people with Little Rock-based Winrock International, a nonprofit organization that works with people in the United States and around the world to empower the disadvantaged, increase economic opportunity and sustain natural resources. Winrock partners in Asia with USAID on the Farmer-to-Farmer program.

“The U.S. State Department knows if countries can’t feed themselves, we’ll have war,” Isanhart said. “The No. 1 thing we can do is teach them to feed themselves. Second is the education of women. Higher education means fewer births, less population, less need for food and less starvation.”

In ‘96, Isanhart was encouraged to join the F2F volunteer bank. His first project was fruit and vegetable processing in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

His other projects:

1997 — Bishkek, product development and marketing of wool from fat-tailed sheep;
2002 — Bishkek, beet sugar sector study (first of its kind); seed to shelf;
2005 — Almaty, Kazakhstan, apple processing;
2005 — Bishkek, production and marketing of French-type pastries;
2010 — Ghana, soya processing into cooking oil;
2011 — Mali, business plan training of women’s co-ops; branding, composting;
2012 — El Salvador, training of women and youth in business planning;
2013 — Mali, business planning for certified seed co-op, women’s co-ops;
2016 — Senegal, training of CONCEPT trainers for business planning.

All were funded by USAID; all except Ghana were administered by Winrock International.

“After the second one, I said, ‘Wait a minute — I’m not a tourist. This is not a vacation,’” Isanhart remembered. “Now I read the scope of work, and because of my experience, this is like 12 days, 14 days. My goal is 14-16 days from my door to when I get back.”

The F2F program pays all his expenses for each project, including medical checkups, prescription medicine for malaria, passport and mileage to and from the airport.

“It’s expensive, but USAID and the State Department see the value in sending Americans to these places,” he said. “They see a value in having more Americans go to other places. The value is for people in the other countries to see Americans.”

With his teaching schedule, his projects have to be completed during the summer.

“I don’t usually even start looking (for the next project) until the winter,” he said. “When I do hang up my teaching hat, I’ll be able to go at different times of the year.”

And he does plan to continue his important work.

“Oh, sure,” he said. “As long as I have my health.”

Meanwhile, his work is making for a healthier, more peaceful world.