Ron currently holds the title of Harlan Agribusiness Professor Emeritus at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Professor Hanson accomplished a 46 year agribusiness teaching and student advising career that earned 31 university and national award recognitions.  Ron was selected as the Outstanding Ag College Instructor, received the John Deere Agribusiness Teaching Award of Excellence, and was named as the University Educator of the Year.

Ron was the first University of Nebraska professor to receive the prestigious USDA Excellence in University Teaching Award from the U.S. Department of Agriculture which is the top ranking national teaching honor granted in the area of agricultural and food sciences.  His highest career honor was earned by being named the Nebraska Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation.

Ron was raised on an Illinois family farm and earned his undergraduate degree from Western Illinois University and his graduate degrees from the University of Illinois.   He counseled with Nebraska farm families for more than 40 years to help them resolve family conflicts in a more positive manner and to improve family relations through better communications.  His most recent efforts have been directed at farm business ownership succession and the transfer of management control between generations.  He has been honored by the Nebraska Ag Youth Council, Nebraska Farm Bureau, Nebraska Agricultural Leadership Council and the Nebraska FFA Foundation for his dedicated service to both rural youth and farm families. 

Through his publications and professional travels, Ron is recognized as a keynote program speaker on the topic of farm ownership succession planning and the transition of management control to the next generation of family farmers.