Dr. David Lancy loves kids. So much, in fact, he has several toys and a small tricycle scattered throughout his office so a co-worker's infant daughter can use them when she comes to visit.

"I've always enjoyed the study of children's play," he said. "There's part of me that's never grown up. You can never, never take yourself too seriously."

Lancy's studies and research of children and anthropology have taken him all over the world, including Papa New Guinea, where he served as an adviser to the ministry of education. Currently a professor in the anthropology department, and head of the USU Honors program, Lancy is pioneering the use of electronic media in a general education setting.

Earning the Carnegie Award in 2001, Lancy revolutionized an entry-level humanities course by developing a rich and comprehensive multi-media experience.

"I wanted to take it as a challenge rather than burnout. I wanted to turn the situation and make it a positive experience and it's been very successful," he said. "Of all the courses I have taught in my whole life, this has been my favorite."

Students now learn about ancient Egypt through the use of National Geographic articles, art, games that serve as study aids, movies and other non-traditional media.

Having obtained his undergraduate degree at Yale, Lancy said the goal of the Honors program is to replicate the same Ivy League experience he had for Utah State students -- one of the reasons undergraduate research is so heavily emphasized at the university.

"We've created a program in which our students can compete with the best schools in the nation," he said, adding USU produces Rhodes scholars and Goldwater winners.

Lancy said teaching will never get old because he continues to learn about and become an expert in subjects alongside the students he teaches.

"The goal is to provoke interest in students in a topic they weren't interested in before and get them to stretch," he said.

-- PHOTO BY JOSH J. RUSSELL; TEXT BY BROOKE NELSON