From the Seed Up: Transforming Indigenous African Vegetables to Improve Outcomes and Nutrition
Speakers: Pamela Afokpe in conversation with President David Cook
2026 Norman Borlaug Lecture
Members of the public are welcome to attend the student poster sessions, held from 4:00 to 5:45 PM in the South Ballroom of the Memorial Union, preceding the Norman Borlaug Lecture. President Cook and Dr. Cook will host a reception in conjunction with the event.
Pamela Afokpe, Plant Breeder and Product Development Specialist at East-West Seed International, has been named the 2026 Recipient of the Norman E. Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application, Endowed by the Rockefeller Foundation. She is recognized for building a highly successful program for the breeding and adoption of improved traditional African vegetable varieties from the ground up. Her extraordinary efforts have led to increased incomes and better nutrition for tens of thousands of smallholder farmers growing these opportunity crops. Across West Africa, traditional indigenous vegetables such as African eggplant, amaranth and jute mallow have nourished families for generations.
Dr. David Cook, an Ames native and Iowa State alumnus, became the 17th president of Iowa State University on March 1, 2026. With more than 25 years of leadership experience at research universities, he previously served as president of North Dakota State University, where he stabilized enrollment, improved retention and helped set new research records, and held senior executive roles at the University of Kansas. He holds bachelor's degrees in political science and speech communication from Iowa State and a master's and Ph.D. in organizational communication from Kansas. President Cook is committed to making Iowa State the nation's most student-centric leading research university, one that serves students and all Iowans and prepares graduates to thrive in a rapidly changing world.
This lecture recording can be found on the Available Recordings page approximately two business days after the event and will remain accessible for three weeks.
Co-Sponsors: Office of the President, Nutritional Science Council, Seed Science Center, Global Resource Systems, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, College of Health and Human Sciences, Committee on Lectures (funded by Student Government)