SUMMER 2000

VOLUME 34. NUMBER 1

1999 DISTINGUISHED FELLOW

OF THE
AMERICAN COUNCIL ON
CONSUMER INTERESTS
Moharned Abdel-Ghany

CITATION
Dr. Mohamed Abdel-Ghany, professor of consumer sciences at the University of Alabama, is the 1999 Distinguished Fellow of the American Council on Consumer Interests. He is respected both nationally and internationally as a leader in the consumer sciences field. He is the 1998 recipient of
the Family Economics Research Award (American Association of Family
and Consumer Sciences).He currently serves as president of the Asian Consumer and Family Economics Association and vice-president of the Professional Affairs of the International Society for Quality-of-LifeStudies.
Professor Abdel-Ghany holds a doctorate degree in family economics
from the University of Missouri and a masters degree in economics from
Iowa State University. He is the associate editor of the FamiZy and Consumer Sciences Research Journal and has served as a member of the ediThe Journal of Consumer Affairs, Vol. 34, No. 1,2000
0022-007810002- 1
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Copyright 2000 by The American Council on Consumer Interests

THE JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

torial board for The Journal of Consumer Afairs, Journal of Consumer

Studies and Home Economics, Journal of Family and Economic Issues,
and Family Economics and Nutrition Review.
Food consumption issues were the focus of his early research efforts,
based in part on his interest and education in agricultural economics and
development planning while a graduate student in his native Cairo, Egypt.
After arriving in the U.S. to pursue a masters degree in economics at Iowa
State University, a fateful course in family economics under Dr. Margaret
I. Liston broadened his research interests and changed the course of his
career, much to the benefit of consumer and family economics.
The topics of his research span several areas of interest to consumer
and family economists. He has analyzed consumption patterns of different ethnic and age groups, income distribution patterns, valuation of
homemakers time, differences in household work and leisure time
between spouses, gender and racial differences in wages, and measurement issues in assessing quality of life.
A prolific scholar and researcher, Dr. Abdel-Ghany has been widely
published in all of the top journals in consumer and family sciences
including The Journal of Consumer Afairs, Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal (formerly titled the Home Economics Research
Journal), Journal of Family and Economic Issues (formerly titled
Lifestyles: Family and Economic Issues), Journal of Consumer Studies
and Home Economics, Journal of Nutrition Education, Journal of Economics and Social Measurement, Economics of Education Review, Journal of Food Quality, Journal of Business and Economics Statistics, and
the Family Economics and Nutrition Review (formerly titled Family Economics Review). In fact, he is the most published author in the history of
not one but two journals: the Family and Consumer Sciences Research
Journal and the Journal of Consumer Studies and Home Economics. In
addition to publishing over forty-five refereed journal articles, Dr. AbdelGhany has authored over fifty other refereed publications and given
eighty-five research presentations before regional, national, and international professional audiences.
Long before the term globalization became commonplace, Dr. AbdelGhanys high standards of scholarship and outstanding expertise in conducting research engendered respect for consumer and family economics
research before an international audience. He has examined patterns of consumption, savings, and time use in Canada, Japan, and Malaysia. Presentation of his research has literally taken him around the world. He has given
papers at the International Federation of Home Economics Congress in

SUMMER 2000

VOLUME 34, NUMBER 1

Germany, the Asian Regional Association of Home Economics in

Malaysia, Symposium on Time in a Managerial Perspective in Italy, the
Joint Conference on Economic, Industrial, and Managerial Coordination
between Japan and the U.S. in Japan, the Special Conference on Time and
Consumer Behavior in Canada, Global Trends Business Conference in
Mexico, the Association for Consumer Research European Conference in
Sweden and France, and the Asian Consumer and Family Economics Association in Malaysia, China, and Korea. He has played an integral role in the
establishment and success of the Asian Consumer and Family Economics
Association and the International Society for Quality of Life Studies.
Dr. Abdel-Ghany has been a consultant to the Agency for International
Development, USDA, to design and analyze the Egyptian subsidized
food consumption program. He was invited to the University of Qatar to
review the curricula in human ecology. He has served visiting professorships at the University of British Columbia, the Universiti Pertanian
Malaysia, and Chiba University in Japan. Currently, he serves as director
of international affairs for the College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Alabama.
Both undergraduate and graduate students have great respect for Dr.
Abdel-Ghany. Because of his strength as a researcher, students have come
from across the U.S. and from other countries to the University of
Alabama to benefit from his mentoring. No graduate student of his has
failed to publish from his or her thesis; thus, he has played a major role
in developing the next generation of scholars in our area.
In addition to his contributions as a researcher and teacher, Dr. AbdelGhany has provided valuable service to many professional organizations.A
member of the American Council on Consumer Interests since 1972, he has
chaired numerous committees and served as a member of the board of directors from 1977 to 1979. Currently, he is treasurer of the organization, a role
that has earned him the distinguished title of M K Money. He has played an
active role in other professional organizations, including the Eastern
Regional Family Economic-Home Management Association, the Western
Regional Family Economic-Home ManagementAssociation, and the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences, among others.
Dr. Abdel-Ghany continues to make a valued and timely contribution
to the field. His dedication to quality research has set standards of excellence in consumer and family sciences. His high standards of professional
and ethical conduct throughout his career are exemplary. Respect for his
work is international in scope. Thus, in every respect, he is truly a distinguished fellow.