The John A. Hannah Distinguished Professorship was first announced in 1966, in honor of Hannah’s 25th year as president of Michigan State University. Hannah was an ambitious, insightful, and caring leader, whose commitment to the true mission of a land-grant university helped bring MSU to worldwide prominence. John A. Hannah Distinguished Professors, much like Hannah himself, are educators who help to strengthen their disciplines as well as strengthen MSU’s ability to solve global problems through research, scholarship, creative activity, and teaching.