Lawrence E. Dawson earned his B.S. in poultry agriculture education in 1942 and M.S. in poultry marketing in 1946, both from Michigan State College (now University), and his Ph.D. in poultry marketing in 1949 from Purdue University. In 1949, Dawson joined the Poultry Science Department at Michigan State College (now University) where he was responsible for poultry and egg technology research, as well as teaching courses in poultry products and poultry marketing. In 1960, Dawson became a member of the Food Science Department, and served as acting chairperson of the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition in 1980. Throughout his career Dawson made significant contributions to the areas of basic and applied research on meat and egg technology, resulting in over 100 publications. Additionally, he received numerous awards in recognition of his expertise and service, including the Poultry and Egg National Board Research Achievement Award in 1961, a Certificate of Recognition from the Michigan Allied Poultry Industries, Inc. in 1963, and Honorary Life Membership in the National Turkey Federation in 1966.