The World Food Prize Foundation presented Iowa State University with the Norman E. Borlaug Medallion. Ambassador Kenneth M. Quinn presented the award as his last act as president of the foundation. The award recognizes world leaders and exceptional institutions for their impact on issues of global food security that benefit humankind. “The decision to award the Borlaug Medallion to Iowa State University was based on the very special relationship that Dr. Borlaug had to the university during his life, and the critical role that the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences [CALS] has played and continues to play in the development and implementation of World Food Prize programs over the past two decades,” Quinn said. 

Quinn cited the following reasons for the awarding of the medallion: 

• The leadership of President Wendy Wintersteen in building the World Food Prize Iowa Youth Institute while she served as dean of CALS, and her continued involvement as president, including her participation in the Borlaug Dialogue Symposium and on the advisory council.
• The continuation of that leadership at CALS by Dean Daniel Robison expanding involvement with the World Food Prize Foundation.
• The two-decade-long involvement by Associate Dean David Acker in the Global Youth Institute and, for a period, the World Food Prize Secretariat.
• The research and leadership of the Seed Science Center under the direction of Manjit Misra, where Borlaug served on the advisory board.