Program: George Washington Carver Day

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Date/Time:Wednesday, 01 Feb 2023 from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Location:Great Hall, Memorial Union
Cost:Free
URL:www.cals.iastate.edu/george-washington-carver-day
Contact:
Phone:515-294-2518
Channel:Community
Categories:Lectures Special events
Actions:Download iCal/vCal | Email Reminder
Celebrate George Washington Carver, whose life story is a remarkable chapter in both Iowa and American history. RSVP required; deadline in Jan. 25.

PROGRAM
Livestream
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- 5 p.m., Pre-program reception with Carver-themed or Carver-inspired refreshments and videos of PBS documentary George Washington Carver: An Uncommon Life
- 5:30 p.m., Welcome, Daniel J. Robison, Endowed Dean's Chair, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University
- Student readings from Carver's life and times
- Remarks, Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn (ret.), President Emeritus, The World Food Prize
- Remarks, Wendy Wintersteen, President, Iowa State University
- Student readings from Carver's life and times
- Remarks, Dr. Olga Bolden-Tiller, Dean, College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences, Tuskegee University
- Video from George Washington Carver National Monument, Diamond, Mo.
- Remarks, Marsha Kelliher, President, Simpson College
- Student readings from Carver's life and times
- 6:20 p.m., Keynote Speech -- Dewayne Goldmon, Senior Advisor for Racial Justice and Equity, U.S.
Department of Agriculture; Iowa State alumnus; 2020 recipient of George Washington Carver Distinguished Service Award from ISU's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
- Remarks, Simon Estes, F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Artist in Residence, Department of Music and Theatre, Iowa State University
- Concluding remarks, Daniel J. Robison, Endowed Dean's Chair, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Iowa State University
- 7 p.m., Post-program reception with ice cream from ISU Creamery (peanut butter, chocolate)

George Washington Carver
Carver's story is one of extraordinary resiliency. Born into slavery in Missouri around 1864, he sought higher education in Iowa, first at Simpson and then at Iowa State. He was Iowa State's first Black student, earning bachelor's and master's degrees. After graduation, he became ISU's first Black faculty member. Carver left Iowa for the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University) 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.

Of Carver, it has been said that he wanted to turn the ugly into the beautiful and the wasteful into the useful -- so that even "the poorest of God's creatures" would be healthier, their homes more comfortable, their surroundings more beautiful and their lives more significant.

That's a legacy worth remembering.