MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (9/12/2006) — Norman Borlaug, the 1970 Nobel Peace Prize winner and University of Minnesota alumnus, will visit the university’s St. Paul campus next week to take part in the annual E.C. Stakman Award ceremony and to mark the release of a new biography, “The Man Who Fed the World,” by friend and colleague Leon Hesser.
Borlaug and Hesser will be on campus Monday, Sept. 18 — the date that Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently declared to be Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Day in recognition of Borlaug’s contributions to the university, the state and the world.
Borlaug earned his bachelor’s degree from the U in 1937, his master’s degree in 1939 and his doctorate degree in 1942. A plant pathologist by training, he has spent the better part of six decades fighting hunger in Africa, Asia and Mexico – saving, by some estimates, as many as 1 billion lives. Hesser, who earned his doctorate degree in agricultural economics from Purdue University, met Borlaug in Pakistan in 1966; Hesser then worked to introduce Borlaug’s high-yield seeds and production techniques to the Asian subcontinent.
Hesser’s book, which features a foreword by former president Jimmy Carter, describes Borlaug’s life in straightforward prose befitting his Norwegian immigrant family and rural Iowa upbringing. Underlying themes of old-fashioned common sense, decency, humility and hard work still resonate because Borlaug’s work — in fields, laboratories and the halls of government — continues today.
Their arrival kicks off a full slate of activities, including the following events open to the university community and the media:
1:45 – 2:30 p.m. Seminar by Leon Hesser: “Unsung Hero: The Man Who Fed the World,” with an introduction and comments by Norman Borlaug. 105 Cargill Building, 1500 Gortner Ave., St. Paul.
3:15 – 5:00 p.m. Stakman Award reception and Hesser book signing. Cargill Atrium, 1500 Gortner Ave., St. Paul.
Borlaug and Hesser will also take part in various departmental activities, including seminars and discussion sessions with plant pathology graduate students and undergraduate ambassadors, as well as the Stakman award ceremony, in which Borlaug will speak to the accomplishments of this year’s recipient, U alumnus John Gibler.
The department of plant pathology presents the Stakman award for outstanding achievements in plant pathology. Gibler’s work paralleled that of his Rockefeller Foundation mentors, Stakman and Borlaug – he is recognized in particular for his work leading to the development of disease-resistant cereals throughout Latin America, the adaptation of cereal varieties and soybean production protocols for “worn-out” soils in Brazil, and the training and organizing of plant scientists in Latin America, as well as for his unique abilities to influence politicians, administrators and growers worldwide to adopt policies and protocols that will help end world hunger.
Gibler earned his master’s degree from the U of M in 1950, and his doctorate degree in 1951. As Gibler is unable to attend the award ceremony, his daughter, Jan Krukar, will receive award on his behalf.
The following is the text of Gov. Pawlenty’s proclamation.
WHEREAS: Norman Ernest Borlaug was born March 25, 1914, on a farm in Iowa and received a bachelor of science degree in forestry from the University of Minnesota in 1937; and
WHEREAS: Norman Borlaug was a varsity wrestler at the University of Minnesota. Through exhibition matches, he helped introduce the sport to high schools throughout Minnesota and refereed the first-ever Minnesota State High School Wrestling Tournament in 1938; and
WHEREAS: After receiving his degree, Borlaug started work with the U. S. Forestry Service at stations located in Massachusetts and Idaho; and
WHEREAS: After returning to Minnesota, Borlaug received a master’s degree in 1939 and a doctorate degree in 1942, both from the University of Minnesota; and
WHEREAS: In 1944, Borlaug accepted an appointment as geneticist and plant pathologist to organize and direct the Cooperative Wheat Research and Production Program in Mexico. This appointment allowed him to be involved in scientific research in genetics and for the next 16 years he was extremely successful in finding a high-yielding, short-strawed, disease-resistant wheat; and
WHEREAS: Borlaug’s agriculture research in Mexico improved crop management practices and transformed agricultural production in Mexico during the 1940s and 1950s and later in Asia and Latin America; and
WHEREAS: In 1970, Dr. Norman Ernest Borlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his lifetime work in agriculture, which has resulted in saving millions of human lives by preventing famine and alleviating hunger and malnutrition.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, TIM PAWLENTY, Governor of Minnesota, proclaim Monday, September 18, 2006, to be:
DR. NORMAN E. BORLAUG DAY
in the State of Minnesota.
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