A free performance by comedian Bill Cosby will kick off a year-long university celebration in honor of African American scientist and Iowa State alumnus George Washington Carver.

The Vice President of External Affairs Office, the Committee on Lectures, the Iowa State Center and the Government of the Student Body are sponsoring the Aug. 30 performance at Stephens Auditorium.

Pat Miller, director of the lectures committee, said the ISU Center booked Cosby to perform at the celebration because of educational interests.

“[Cosby] cares about education, and this is for the students,” she said.

In addition to the free evening show for students, Cosby will also perform in the afternoon for the general public. Ticket information on the afternoon performance will be available in June, according to a press release.

The university celebration will center around the theme “Inspiring Students to Become Their Best — The Legacy of George Washington Carver.”

Murray Blackwelder, vice president for external affairs, said the celebration will also include an arts series and a collection of lectures. The College of Agriculture will also be highlighted, as Carver received his bachelor of agriculture degree in 1894.

Blackwelder said a planning committee of students, faculty and staff are developing the celebration.

“Anyone who wants to be a part of [the planning committee] can be,” he said.

Bryan Burkhardt, GSB president and a member of the planning committee, said students also will be involved in the planning process.

“We believe a lot of people will want to be part of this,” Burkhardt said.

Miller said students from the College of Agriculture will be included on the committee to help plan the events celebrating their college.

Burkhardt said by honoring Carver and recognizing his accomplishments at ISU, the university could show students the opportunities available to them on campus.

“I believe that George Washington Carver’s presence on this campus is very notable,” he said.

Blackwelder said the celebration of Carver was chosen as next year’s university relations theme because of Carver’s special impact at ISU.

“There’s a synergy about George Washington Carver at Iowa State University,” he said.

Carver was the first African American to enroll at ISU, the first African American to earn a degree from the college, and he spent a year as ISU’s first African-American faculty member.

Although Carver’s contributions to the university community were primarily in the areas of agriculture and science, Blackwelder said it also was important to highlight art as a part of the celebration.

“The more you know about George Washington Carver, the more he is a Renaissance man,” he said.

As a part of the Carver celebration, ISU President Martin Jischke will tour nine cities in Iowa with a traveling display honoring Carver. Jischke will speak on the theme “Inspiring Students to Become Their Best,” Blackwelder said.