Henry A. Wallace Award

This citation honors a College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumnus or friend who has achieved notable professional achievements nationally or internationally and brought distinction to themselves, the college, and the university through their significant contributions. Selection is made by the Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

This award was established in 1978 and is presented annually during Iowa State University’s Homecoming Weekend. Click here for the nomination form. Nominations are due the third Tuesday in November.

2020 Henry A. Wallace Awardee

Roger Carlsson (’78 agricultural business)
London, United Kingdom

A veteran investment and risk officer, Roger Carlsson, chairman of First Continental Trading Group of Companies (FCT), is a driving force in the global investment management industry.

In 1984, Carlsson founded FCT, basing the company in Chicago, Illinois. An active member on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade, Carlsson grew FCT into a globally-recognized investment firm and one of the largest independent market making and proprietary trading groups in the world. With operations in key global financial centers, FCT was one of the largest independent shareholders of the London International Financial Futures Exchange, an organization eventually acquired by the New York Stock Exchange.

Following his graduation from Iowa State University in 1978, Carlsson earned a master’s degree in business administration from DePaul University and continued his studies at the London Business School, earning the organization’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2004, and currently serves on the school’s board of directors.

In 1998, Carlsson founded the Carlsson Family Foundation, which he established to manage his charitable contributions and provide a research vehicle for other donors wishing to make informed philanthropic decisions.

Carlsson’s philanthropy has extended to Iowa State University students. In 2018, he helped establish the Paul Doak Agricultural Business Recruiting Scholarship by launching a match-gift giving challenge to College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni and friends. In addition, he frequently hosts College of Agriculture and Life Sciences study abroad students visiting the United Kingdom.

2020 Henry A. Wallace Awardee

Betsy Freese (’84 agricultural journalism)
Indianola, Iowa

Betsy Freese, executive editor for Meredith Agrimedia and Successful Farming magazine, is a nationally-acclaimed media executive and industry leader.

Freese is a pioneer in agricultural communications, having grown the reach of her platforms to meet the needed technological advancements of the organization’s national audiences. Throughout her 36-year tenure with Meredith Agrimedia, Freese helped build the Successful Farming brand from a beloved magazine to one of the top online resources in the farming and ranching industries.

For the past 26 years, she’s served as publisher for the Pork Powerhouse rankings, an annual report of the world’s top pork producers. In 2017, she was honored as a Folio magazine’s Top Women in Media Industry Leadership awardee. In 2019, her work with the Pork Powerhouse rankings won her Folio’s top award for a single article. Freese was the founding editor of Living the Country Life magazine, growing the brand from a quarterly publication to a multi-faceted media presence.

Her professional achievements have netted her national accolades, earning the President’s Award from both the American Agricultural Editors’ Association and the North American Agricultural Journalists

Throughout her career, Freese has served as a mentor to aspiring journalists and communicators. She helps supervise Meredith Agrimedia’s apprentice program and is a supporter of student organizations at Iowa State University and Drake University. Her philanthropy extends to her community, where Freese serves on the board of directors for the Des Moines Metro Opera Board of Trustees and the Indianola Public Library.

Freese is a life member of the ISU Alumni Association.

Past Recipients

• 2019 – Dhamu Thamodaran, ’83 PhD agricultural economics
• 2018 – Max F. Rothschild
• 2017 – Catherine E. Woteki
• 2016 – Robert E. Walton, Sr., ’61 PhD animal science
• 2015 – James P. Tobin, ’78 agricultural and life sciences education
• 2014 – Steven Bradbury, ’81 MS entomology, ’85 PhD
• 2013 – James Blome, ‘85 agronomy and pest management
• 2012 – John P. Gordon
• 2011 – Lowell Catlett, ‘80 PhD economics
• 2010 – Dana R. Robes, ’67 dairy science
• 2009 – David L. Wright, ’82 agronomy, ’86 MS
• 2008 – Owen J. Newlin, ’51 agronomy, ’53 MS
• 2007 – Harlan Ritchie, ’57 animal science, ’64 PhD
• 2006 – Carl Whitcomb, ’66 MS horticulture, ’69 PhD
• 2005 – Ray Townsend
• 2004 – D.L. “Hank” Harris, ’67 doctor of veterinary medicine, ’70PhD
• 2003 – Wesley Buchele, ’54 PhD ag engineering
• 2002 – Burton Endo, ’51 horticulture
• 2001 – Douglas Hard, ’75 animal science, ’78 MS, ’81 PhD
• 2000 – Mark Drabenstott, ’80 MS agricultural economics, ’81 PhD
• 1999 – Billy Day, ’58 PhD animal science
• 1998 – Francis Byrnes, ’75 PhD sociology
• 1997 – Ned Raun, ’61 PhD animal science
• 1996 – Walter Fehr, ’67 PhD agronomy
• 1995 – Luther Tweeten, ’54 agricultural education,’ 62 MS agricultural economics
• 1994 – Duane Acker, ’52 animal science, ’53 MS, ’57 PhD
• 1993 – Roger Mitchell, ’54 agronomy, ’61 PhD
• 1992 – Arnel Hallauer, ’58 MS agronomy, ’60 PhD
• 1991 – Robert Barnes, ’57 agronomy
• 1990 – Kenneth Frey, ’48 PhD agronomy
• 1989 – Eugene Meyer, ’46 dairy science
• 1988 – Herb Plambeck
• 1987 – Neil Harl ’55 agricultural education, ’65 PhD economics
• 1986 – Kenneth Nielsen, ’46 agricultural education
• 1985 – Robert Kalton, ’45 MS agronomy, ’47 PhD
• 1984 – Charles Henderson, ’33 animal science, ’35 MS, ’48 PhD
• 1983 – George Beal, ’43 agricultural economics, ’47 MS, ’53 PhD rural sociology
• 1982 – Louis Thompson, ’47 MS agronomy, ’50 PhD
• 1981 – R. J. Hildreth, ’49 industrial administration,’ 50 MS, ’54 PhD agricultural economics
• 1980 – Charles Black, ’38 MS agronomy, ’42 PhD
• 1979 – Lauren K. Soth, ’32 agricultural journalism, ’38 MS
• 1978 – Earl Heady, ’45 PhD economics