George Washington Carver Distinguished Service Award
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Established in 2005 to honor Iowa State University alumni and/or friends who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in writing, teaching, research, or leadership in the agricultural, food, environmental, social, and life sciences
Jerald R. DeWitt
Ankeny, Iowa
Jerry DeWitt is a leader in sustainable agriculture at the state, regional, and national levels. His 30-year commitment to sustainable agriculture research ranges from the science of pest management to the insight that led Iowa State to establish the first tenured organic agriculture faculty position at a land grant university.
DeWitt has served as ISU Extension’s state sustainable agriculture coordinator since 1994. During the 1980s, he worked with farm groups to develop on-farm demonstrations that have led to research and educational partnerships between Iowa State University and grassroots farm organizations.
During the past 15 years he has stepped up three times to serve as the national program leader for the USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program. In 2005, he became the director of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. The Center is recognized for its research and educational programs and was established in 1987 with the Iowa legislature’s passage of the Iowa Groundwater Protection Act.
