A 38-year veteran of education, John Gengler was both principal and a teacher of American government and English at Richardton-Taylor High School for 30 years. "I was a pro-active teacher and administrator whose life was totally intertwined with his profession," said Gengler. A very active member of the Secondary Principals of North Dakota Association, he was president in 1985 and state coordinator from 1986-1988. "For our profession to grow," said Gengler, "principals must be involved locally, statewide and nationally." Gengler, who "fell in love with school" the first day he entered one in 1946, said that "after nearly a half a century the exhilarating ambience remains." In 1990, he was recognized by the National Association of Secondary Principals as Principal of the Year for North Dakota. He retired in 2000, then managed a Carol M. White PEP grant for 16 school districts in southwest North Dakota in 2003 and 2004. In 2003, he was named the first Distinguished Alumni Fellow in Teacher Education at his alma mater, Dickinson State University.
1962 Dickinson State University, B.A.
