Ames, Iowa
November 18, 2008
A life-sized sculpture of George
Washington Carver, an iconic figure at Iowa State University,
will be dedicated at a ceremony outside Iowa State's
Seed Science
Center at noon, Tuesday, Nov. 18, at the corner of Wallace
Drive and Osborn Road on campus. The event is free and open to
the public.
Carver spent his life working with seeds and plants and was a
groundbreaking researcher and botanist who developed new uses
for peanuts, sweet potatoes and many other plants. He began his
career in research, teaching and writing in 1891 as the first
African-American student in Iowa State's history and later as
the first African-American member of the school's faculty.
This is the only life-sized sculpture of the famous scientist
anywhere in the world from the maquette sculpted by Christian
Petersen in 1949. Petersen was Iowa State's artist in residence
from 1934-55.
Manjit Misra, director of the Seed Science Center, said a
sculpture of Carver was the right choice to stand at the
entrance to the center which recently opened a new,
5,000-square-foot addition.
"He learned about plants and seeds here on campus," said Misra.
"And his findings are magnificent. But it is not just research
that made this man so special. He really believed that service
was the measure of our success -- not money or number of
patents, but how much you have helped people. In his research
and his life, he has shown us the way."
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From left to
right:
Elizabeth Hoffman, Executive Vice President
and Provost
Manjit Misra, director, Seed Science Center
Jack M. Payne, Vice President for Extension &
Outreach, Director of Cooperative Extension
Paxton Williams, as George Washington Carver,
former Carver Scholar, executive director of the
George Washington Carver Birthplace District
Association
George Washington Carver statue
Wendy Wintersteen, dean of the College of
Agriculture and Life Sciences
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Carver also predated the "green" trends of today. He once said
that whatever can be made from chemicals and petroleum, he could
make from plants.
The ceremony is in conjunction with the annual convention of the
Iowa Seed Association taking place in Ames Nov. 18-19.
Carver will make an appearance later in the day in the form of
Iowa State alumnus Paxton Williams. Williams will perform his
one-man play "Listening to the Still Small Voice: The Life and
Works of George Washington Carver" at 6 p.m. in the Suffolk Room
at the Holiday Inn hotel located at 2609 University Boulevard in
Ames. The performance is free and open to the public.
Funding for the George Washington Carver sculpture, which will
be in the Art on Campus Collection, was provided by the
Committee for Agricultural Development.
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