UK Announces HES Hall of Fame Class

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2010) – Five individuals joined the University of Kentucky School of Human Environmental Sciences Hall of Fame during a recent  ceremony at UK's Hilary J. Boone Center.
 

The school's Hall of Fame recognizes individuals and alumni who are dedicated to the betterment of their professions, local communities and the school.
 

"We are thrilled that our alumni and school leaders have improved the quality of lives for individuals and families in Kentucky and around the world," said Ann Vail, director of the school, which is part of the UK College of Agriculture. "They serve as role models and inspirations for our current students as they prepare for their careers."
 

This year's inductees include:
 

The late Betty Jane Downer Eastin - A native of Aliceville, Ala., Betty Jane Downer Eastin is probably best remembered for establishing the school's Betty D. Eastin Historical Costume Collection. She wanted the costume collection to illustrate the importance of textiles and design in the growth and development of the state. She worked tirelessly to acquire pieces for the collection.
 

Eastin came to UK in 1952 as an assistant professor in the School of Home Economics. Eastin served on the board of the Kentucky Home Economics Association. She was a charter member of the Kentucky Gerontological Society and belonged to the Fashion Group of New York. Her efforts were instrumental in establishing the Kentucky chapter of the National Society of Interior Designers. Eastin also helped organize home economists in homemaking groups in Fayette, Jefferson and several other Kentucky counties.
 

Raymond E. Forgue - Raymond Forgue's interest in personal financial planning began when he was 11 and took out a loan to pay for a bicycle for his first job delivering a paper route. Years later, he discovered the loan's annual percentage rate was 40 percent-higher than any credit card available today.
 

Forgue received his doctorate in consumer and family economics from Virginia Tech in 1980 and began a 28-year career with UK the next fall in the Department of Family Studies in the College of Human Environmental Sciences.
 

At UK, he and his students managed the Consumer Protection Hotline which connected Kentucky residents with the state attorney general's office for 18 years. Forgue served as the department's director of graduate studies for six years and was appointed department chair in 1992. He served in that position until 1997. He served as acting dean of the College of Human Environmental Sciences from 1992 to 1993.
 

Upon retiring from UK, Forgue created two endowed scholarships for UK juniors and seniors majoring in family studies or family and consumer sciences education.
 

The late Opal Hurley Mann Green - From a humble upbringing in West Liberty, Opal Hurley Mann Green went on to leadership roles at the U.S. Department of Agriculture as a deputy administrator.
 

The oldest in her family, Green was the first child in her community to go to high school. Her parents couldn't afford to send her to college, but with encouragement and assistance from county extension agent Yandall Wrather, Green enrolled at UK.
 

After graduating from UK in 1944, she took a teaching job in Illinois. She returned to Kentucky in 1945 and began her career in Cooperative Extension as an assistant county home demonstration agent in Breathitt County. She later became the county home demonstration agent for Pike County. She became the first woman to serve as county home coordinator in 1958, training other extension home economists throughout the district and state.
 

She also served as the adviser to the National Extension Homemakers Council. Green retired in 1982.
 

Anna Bernice Lucas - Raised on a Lincoln County farm, Anna Lucas was active in 4-H throughout her youth and remained so during her 37-plus years with the UK Cooperative Extension Service.

Lucas graduated from UK with a bachelor's degree in home economics in 1963. After graduation she accepted a job as a home economics agent in Grant County. At that time, the agents were also in charge of the county's 4-H program.
 

She served as acting assistant director of Kentucky 4-H in 1990.
 

Even though she's retired, Lucas continues to volunteer with the Lincoln County 4-H program and the Kentucky 4-H office. She currently provides statewide leadership for character education and serves as the volunteer coordinator for CHARACTER COUNTS!
 

Lucas also created two scholarships for students in the College of Agriculture and School of Human Environmental Sciences.
 

Kathy Allen Jansen - A native of Lexington, Kathy Jansen knew she wanted to be a home economics teacher. In 1967, she enrolled at UK to pursue her dream. She graduated from the university in 1971 with a bachelor's degree in vocational home economics and a new career goal of becoming a college professor of textiles. She received a graduate assistantship to pursue her master's and doctorate degrees in textile science at the University of Wisconsin, earning her doctorate in 1975.
 

Since then, she has shared her passion for textiles and home economics with students across the United States and the world.

After nearly 30 years in teaching, Jansen retired and began a career as a national and international education consultant and senior project manager at Measurement Incorporated, an educational assessment company in North Carolina. She divides her time between North Carolina and Zimbabwe, where her husband is a senior HIV/AIDs adviser to the U.S. Embassy.
 

She has received many awards for her community service contributions including the Outstanding Volunteer Award from the American Embassy in Amman, Jordan; Service Award from the American Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan; and Community Service Award from the American Embassy in Rabat, Morocco.
 

Jansen maintains her connections with UK through the alumni association and is a UK Fellow.