George Washington Carver Day of Recognition
- Office of the President
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)
Join Iowa State University in celebrating the second annual George Washington Carver Day of Recognition, February 1, 2024.
Keynote Address, "A visit with Professor George Washington Carver" by Paxton Williams, Attorney, Belin McCormick, PC
In addition to Williams' performance, the Carver Day celebration will feature:
- Recognition of Iowa State students involved in the annual Food Insecurity Challenge, a campus competition that educates students about local and global hunger issues and challenges them to develop solutions.
- Remarks by Jay Byers, president of Simpson College; and Rolundus Rice, chief operating officer and vice president for student affairs at Tuskegee University.
- Reflections on Carver's legacy by Kenneth Quinn, former U.S. ambassador to Cambodia and emeritus president of the World Food Prize Foundation; and Simon Estes, the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Artist-In-Residence in the department of music and theatre.
- Welcome and closing remarks from Dan Robison, Endowed Dean's Chair of the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Following the program, ISU Creamery ice cream will be served.
More details regarding the program and speakers can be found online: https://www.cals.iastate.edu/george-washington-carver-day
This lecture will be live streamed and recorded. Join the livestream here. The recording will be added to the Available Recordings page when available.
On George Washington Carver Day in Iowa, Carver’s life and legacy live on as a potent symbol of courage, perseverance, and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Carver’s story is one of extraordinary resiliency. Born into slavery in Missouri around 1864, he sought higher education in Iowa, at Simpson College and Iowa State University. He was Iowa State’s first Black student, earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees. After graduation, he became Iowa State’s first Black faculty member.
Carver left Iowa for the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, where he spent the rest of his life applying his innovative genius to agriculture. He became world renowned for creating hundreds of products made from peanuts, sweet potatoes and other native Southern crops. A kind and patient teacher, Carver showed farmers how alternative crops and practices could benefit their bottom line and sustain their land. He took practical knowledge gained from science and delivered it to those working in the fields and rural areas.