[3][4] He attended Wath Grammar School,[5] before studying for a BSc and MSc in Agriculture at the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth.
[3] After spending time as a scientific officer at the Welsh Plant Breeding Station, he returned to academia to read for a PhD at the University of Cambridge, and both lectured and demonstrated there (latterly as a fellow of Fitzwilliam House) before moving to Armidale, New South Wales, Australia.
In June 1971 he asked the Academic Planning Committee to comment on the possible amalgamation because he believed "Armidale was too small for two independent tertiary institutions.
[7] Lazenby returned to Australia in early 1982 and was appointed the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Tasmania on 21 October 1982 replacing David Caro.
[1] In 1985, then-Federal Minister for Primary Industry, John Kerin asked him to investigate the introduction of plant breeders' rights legislation, which was enacted in 1987.