Professor Lardy was raised in the badlands area of western North Dakota and it was there that he learned to survive long and harsh winters. He received bachelor and master’s degrees from the University of North Dakota and a Ph. D. from the University of Minnesota.

He has since been associated with Syracuse University, but has also held a postdoctoral research fellowship at Yale University and a visiting faculty position at the University of Maryland.

He served for six years as Department Chair at Syracuse. He is now Professor Emeritus and considers working with students in independent study courses to be one of the most rewarding experiences of a long career.