Brady Spangenberg to deliver first lecture of Simpson College Humanities Division Speaker Series 

Simpson College has announced that Brady Spangenberg ’04 of BASF Agricultural Solutions will deliver the first lecture of the new Humanities Division Speaker Series at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021. The lecture will take place in Hubbell Hall at the Kent Campus Center.

Spangenberg’s lecture, “You Studied What?!? Applying Humanities Lessons to the Business of Agriculture” is free and open to the public. A reception will follow. All attendees must follow Simpson’s COVID-19 protocols, which require masks to be worn in indoor public spaces.

Humanities Division Speaker Series

The Humanities Division Speaker Series brings scholars and professionals from across the region to present and discuss how studies in the humanities enable them to integrate, comprehend and innovate across a wide spectrum of life activities. The series is made possible by a gift from Jane Gibb ’66.

“The new lecture series is designed and planned to help all of us appreciate the inherent quality of humanistic study and how such study is a necessary condition for innovative and creative thought and problem-solving,” said John Pauley, professor of philosophy and department chair of philosophy. “Simpson College is built up from ‘the liberal arts,’ which is a synthetic study of disciplines and the nature of human inquiry. The humanities are at the core of this work.”

Speaker Brady Spangenberg

Spangenberg has been with BASF for 10 years and currently serves as the marketing strategy and services senior manager for the multinational company’s Agricultural Solutions segment. During his tenure, Spangenberg has held US-based roles in business systems & analytics and market intelligence and research. He began his career as the global communications manager at the Agricultural Solutions headquarters in Limbergerhof, Germany.

“Brady will discuss how the study of humanities at Simpson College helped him think creatively about problems related to agriculture,” said John Pauley, professor of philosophy and department chair of philosophy. “In other words, the study of the humanities helps to provide a flexibility and depth in thinking and doing that has an application to any difficult problem. The study of humanities should never be neglected by people in natural and social science or, for that matter, any discipline.”

Spangenberg graduated with degrees in English and religion and a minor in German. He holds a Ph.D. in comparative literature from Purdue University and has held various research and visiting scholar positions at the University of Freiburg, Purdue University and Simpson College. 

About Simpson College
Simpson College is a private, liberal arts college located in Iowa with campuses in Indianola, West Des Moines and online. Founded in 1860, the college has 1,268 undergraduate and graduate students. Simpson offers 74 majors, minors and programs in addition to three graduate programs. Outside of the classroom, Simpson is a member of the NCAA Division III American Rivers Conference, hosts eight Greek houses on campus and sponsors many extracurricular options for student involvement.
 
Media Contact
Bryan Geelan, Interim Vice President for Marketing and Strategic Communication
Direct: (515) 961-1608
Email: bryan.geelan@simpson.edu