Profile: Bryan Garton
Farm boy to college professor
by Jessica England, posted April 24, 2009
“If you gave him a highlighter I’m sure he would color code everything. He has certain color coding for his filing and lesson plans,” said Amy Smith, an agricultural education instructor.
Bryan L Garton is the associate dean and director of academic programs for CAFNR. He oversees the academic progress of about 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students combined. Garton began working as interim associate dean in June 2008 after the unexpected death of Paul Vaughn, and was named associate dean April 22, 2009.
“It’s not easy; I don’t know how to compare it,” said Garton. “Most people don’t know how to go into an interim position after a situation like this with all of the emotional feelings and new tasks and know if they will do well. My first responsibility is to take care of the people.”
Donna Vaught, the executive staff assistant to the associate dean for academic programs, has only been working with Garton for a short time. Vaughn was the associate dean for nine years, and the college had a hard time coping with his death, Vaught said.
“Dr. Garton handled it very well. It came at the worst time in a person’s professional career,” said Vaught. “He is very well organized and astute on how things work.”
Garton had met with Vaughn on various occasions throughout their careers, and worked closely with him while he was with CAFNR. They respected each other as friends as well as colleagues.
Before inhabiting the office in 2-64 Agriculture Building, Garton was teaching classes and advising students as a professor and chair of the agricultural education department. He has focused much of his research on the influence of learning and personality styles on student achievement and retention.
“I got to where I wanted to be,” Garton said. “The goal was to do my job, do my research, do well and earn the rank of professor.”
Smith worked with Garton in the agricultural education department since the fall of 2005 doing research and teaching. She was a graduate assistant for the agricultural education communicating class. Garton helped her work towards her dissertation process and with research along the way.
“He has high expectations for his colleagues, students and himself,” Smith said. “When he took the job as interim associate dean, I was happy for him and excited that he would be able to provide leadership for CAFNR, but at the same time sad for the agricultural education department because he is really the foundation for the department.”
Garton grew up in Bronaugh, Mo. Showing cattle in 4-H and being involved in the FFA made him grow passionate towards agriculture. Attending MU as a freshman, Garton found himself a natural in the agricultural education department. He loved agriculture, and attending a school with a successful and well-known program helped him start his career.
Graduating with a bachelor’s of science in agricultural education in 1985, he found a position as a high school agriculture teacher in Higginsville, Mo. at Lafayette County C-1 School District. After teaching at the high school level for five years and working on his master’s degree at MU, he attended Ohio State University to work towards his doctorate in agricultural education.
Garton has been married for 20 years to his wife Debbie, a physical therapist at Boone Hospital. They have two sons Josh, 15, and Logan, 10, and live in the Columbia area. He stays very busy with his two sons and their activities in boy scouts, sports, band, water and snow skiing.
