Summer 2010
Departments
Extraordinary history
In this issue of the Simpson Magazine, we celebrate 150 years of extraordinary history and tradition. We look back to appreciate and recognize a timeline of our strengths and we look forward to the growth and continued excellence that we will surely realize in the years to come.
In the early days, Simpson College was little more than a frontier outpost. Founded in 1860, ju st 14 years after Iowa achieved statehood, Simpson was small and unheralded, but earnest. As a college, it had aspirations to educate mostly the sons and daughters of the state’s farmers and merchants. On a fall day in 1890 a young ma n walked 25 miles from Winterset, Iowa to Indianola and presented his academic credentials in the hopes of being admitted to Simpson. He had earlier been granted admission to a college in Kansas but was barred at the door, not because he lacked academic training but because he was African-American, born into slavery during the Civil War.
So it was that George Washington Carver’s college career began at Simpson College, where he initially aspired to become a painter and pianist. Profoundly impressed by his talents and great love of plants, his art professor, Etta Mae Budd, recommended that Carver continue his education at what is now Iowa State University. Carver went on to become arguably the most influential scholar ever to study at Simpson and ultimately established himself as one of the most celebrated scientists and humanitarians of the 20th century. One can only speculate about all that would have been lost to the world had Simpson not accepted him that day.
We are undeniably proud to have been the college that looked beyond the color of George Washington Carver’s skin and his humble beginnings in order to nurture his extraordinary potential. Carver once said, “I owe to Simpson College my real beginning in life.” His famous quot e reminds us that every student who comes to us, regardless of their background, deserves the opportunity to succeed. Who knows which of them will become the next great scientist or humanitarian? What we do know is that for 150 years Simpson has been committed to the belief that every student should have the opportunity to reach their full human potential.
It is this belief that has guided the college for its first 150 years and it is a commitment I know we will continue to honor in the years ahead.
Sincerely,
President