George Washington Carver Day

George Washington Carver Day

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver Day of Recognition Program - February 2, 2026

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. 

Join Iowa State University in celebrating the annual George Washington Carver Day of Recognition, February 2, 2026.

In-person event:

Durham Great Hall, ISU Memorial Union

5:00 p.m. - Registration

5:30-6:30 p.m. - Program

6:30-7:30 p.m. - Ice cream reception

RSVP for the George Washington Carver Day event by January 26, 2026

Agenda

  • 5:00-5:30 p.m. – Registration/Meet and Greet
  • 5:30-6:30 p.m. – Program
    • Welcome - Dan Robison, Endowed Dean’s Chair, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
    • Welcome Video Remarks: Reflecting on the Legacy of George Washington Carver
      • Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn, Emeritus President, World Food Prize Foundation
      • Simon Estes, F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Artist-In-Residence, Iowa State University Department of Music and Theatre
    • Keynote Address – Amanda Williams, Visual artist and architect, presenting how G.W. Carver invented and patented a way to create a famous blue pigment from clays and how she used his process and pigment for a renewal project in New Orleans and other art experiments.
    • Performance by Tuskegee University Golden Voices Choir
    • Remarks by Dr. Mark A. Brown – President of Tuskegee University
    • Closing Remarks – Dan Robison, Endowed Dean’s Chair, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
  • 6:30-7:30 p.m. – Ice Cream Networking Reception
    • Legacy - Inspired by Iowa State alums George Washington Carver and Mildred Day - peanut butter and butterscotch ice cream with chocolate covered rice crisps
    • Campanile Kiss - strawberry ice cream with strawberry swirls
    • Slizewski Swirl - dark chocolate vegan, gluten-free frozen dessert
    • 1858 - dark chocolate
    • Pasture Bedtime - mocha flavored custard with chocolate flakes and caramel swirls

Special "thank you" to the following who contributed to making this event possible:

  • ISU Lectures Program
  • College of Engineering - Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering
  • College of Design
  • College of Liberal Arts – Music and Theatre Department
  • ISU Library
  • ISU Student Government

Carver's Legacy

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.

Carver died in 1943. He received many honors during his life and after his death, including election to the National Inventors Hall of Fame and the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, and an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Iowa State.

It has been said of Carver 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.

In Iowa, on Feb. 1, the reason to celebrate his legacy is to remember and honor George Washington Carver’s work ethic and inspiring innovation, and to help young people understand the extraordinary opportunities in science - and life.

"Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom."
George Washington Carver

Learn more about George Washington Carver, his connections to Iowa State University, to the state of Iowa, and to the nation and world: