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Ethan Madden chosen for George Washington Carver Spirit of Innovation and Service Award

Simpson College senior one of five awarded prestigious honor in Carver’s legacy

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Simpson College student Ethan Madden will receive the prestigious George Washington Carver Spirit of Innovation and Service Award at the annual George Washington Carver Symposium and Awards ceremony Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021. 

The award is presented to honor the legacy of Carver, who began his collegiate education at Simpson and has a building – Carver Science Hall – named in his honor. Madden officially receives the honor during the virtual symposium and award ceremony hosted by Lincoln University. The Zoom Webinar begins at 11:30 a.m. CT and is open to the public. To register, go to simpson.zoom.us.  

The program “Minority Land Loss and Restorative Justice” features a panel of speakers which includes Victor L. Harris, publisher of Minority Landowner Magazine; Dr. Cassandra Johnson, research social scientist for the USDA Forest Service; and Dr. Robert Zabawa, research professor of agricultural and resource economics at Tuskegee University. 

Madden, a senior biology major from Creston, Iowa, was selected for the honor by Simpson faculty in the division of natural sciences. Heavily involved in research, Madden has performed on-campus research, presented research to NASA and visited the University of Colorado to research human gene regulation. He is a member of the Beta Beta Beta National Honorary Biology Society and won the Dr. Joe K. Moody Research Scholarship in 2020. 

The award is sponsored by the George Washington Carver Birthplace Association, which is a nonprofit cooperating association of the National Park Service at the George Washington Carver National Monument near Diamond, Missouri.

Madden is one of just five students in the country to receive the honor, which is accompanied by a $1,000 scholarship. The other recipients come from Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Lincoln University and Tuskegee University. 

Carver was an internationally recognized agricultural chemist, agronomist and experimenter whose development of new products derived from peanuts, sweet potatoes and soybeans helped revolutionize the agricultural economy of the South. After another college refused to admit him because of his race, Carver matriculated at Simpson, where he studied art and piano from 1890-91. He eventually graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Iowa State University.


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 1,078 undergraduate and graduate students. Simpson offers 75 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.
 
Contact Information
Bryan Geelan, marketing communication director
Direct: 515-961-1608
Email: bryan.geelan@simpson.edu