Norman Borlaug was educated and inspired while at the University of Minnesota. He was immersed in an atmosphere that fostered and demanded excellence. He was exposed to world-class faculty and alumni and made many lifelong friendships. His Minnesota connections and bonds often facilitated his seven-decade long endeavors to combat world hunger. Many University graduates followed him into international agriculture, and more than a dozen worked directly for him.

Norman Ernest Borlaug is the University’s most celebrated alumnus. During his lifetime Norman Borlaug was inducted into the collegiate National Wrestling Hall of Fame, received the Nobel Peace Prize, a Presidential Medal of Freedom, a Congressional Gold Medal, and the National Medal of Science. He helped introduce High School Wrestling to Minnesota and Little League Baseball to Mexico. He established the World Food Prize in 1986 and is the only scientist in National Statuary Hall in Washington DC.