Mona Lane
April 16, 2014
Mona Lane, 71, was born in Tecumseh, OK, on January 27, 1943, and passed away on April 16, 2014, in Stillwater. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1966 with a degree in home economics. From Oklahoma State University, she earned a MS degree in 1971 and a PhD degree in 1989 in family relations and child development. She began working at OSU in 1971 as instructor and lead teacher in the Child Development Laboratory; and in 1980, she became an assistant professor in early childhood education in the Department of Human Development and Family Science, a position she held until her retirement in 2013. Mona was one of the first Head Start teachers when the program was established in the 1960s, working for two years in the Head Start program for the Oglala Sioux Tribe in Pine Ridge, SD. She served as president of the Oklahoma Association on Children Under Six and as president of the state affiliate of the Association for Childhood Education International. She was instrumental in developing the OSU Infant-Toddler Lab and also served as interim director of the OSU Child Development Labs. In addition, she served as a representative to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, as a representative to the Southern Early Childhood Association, and as a national representative to the World Organization in Early Childhood Education. In addition, Mona was a pioneer in using technology in her teaching. She received several awards, including the Pan-Hellenic Council and Interfraternity Council 2007-2008 College of Human Environmental Sciences Outstanding Faculty Member award and the 2008 Outstanding Early Childhood Teacher Educator award presented by the Oklahoma Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators.