Barry McNamara  |  Published April 12, 2016

Whiteman Lecture

Hunger is ‘world’s greatest solvable problem,’ College community told
Rebecca Middleton of the Alliance to End Hunger addresses a Dahl Chapel audience during the 2016 Whiteman Lecture.
Rebecca Middleton of the Alliance to End Hunger addresses a Dahl Chapel audience during the 2016 Whiteman Lecture.
Hunger is “the world’s greatest solvable problem.”

That was the message delivered at Monmouth College’s 22nd Wendell Whiteman Memorial Lecture, held Tuesday morning at the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium.

“The solutions are there. We just need people to tie them together,” Alliance to End Hunger managing director Rebecca Middleton told a large crowd of students, faculty and guests.

Based in Washington, D.C., the Alliance to End Hunger is a diverse coalition of more than 90 members – corporations, non-profit groups, universities, associations, health care providers, foundations, U.S. agencies and faith-based organizations – who work together to fight hunger domestically and internationally.

Worldwide, about 795 million people suffer from food insecurity, including about 48.1 million Americans, according to Middleton. She said that worldwide total has declined over the last several decades from a peak of about 1 billion people.

For that number to continue to decrease, Middleton said it is imperative to forge partnerships across broad spectrums, sometimes between seemingly competing interests.

“It’s not relief vs. development, or status quo vs. innovation, or locally grown vs. big agriculture,” she said. “It’s not an either-or, it’s an ‘and.’”

Middleton said there are plenty of opportunities for the nonprofit sector to do more to fight hunger in the United States, where 95 percent of hunger aid comes in the form of government and only 5 percent comes from charitable organizations.

“Even if all the church donations and fund drives and other projects were doubled, it’s still a 90 percent gap in funding,” she said.

That’s why Monmouth College plans to join the Alliance to End Hunger. At the conclusion of Middleton’s lecture, Monmouth College president Clarence R. Wyatt said the liberal arts college is uniquely positioned to help fight hunger both domestically and internationally because of its innovative Global Food Security Triad.

Monmouth was a charter signatory (and the first liberal arts college) of Presidents United to Solve Hunger, which is where Wyatt met Middleton and “began a conversation that continues to this day.”   Photos from the lecture are available on the Monmouth College Facebook page. 
Back to News & Events

Did you know?

  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> 99% of Monmouth students received some type of scholarship or financial assistance.</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/offices/student-financial-planning/types-of-aid/scholarships/" target="_blank">Scholarships</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College has an educational garden and 6.7 acre farm. Students grow and harvest fruits and vegetables to sell at the local farmer’s market. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_urls"><a href="https://monmouthcollege.edu/academics/only-at-monmouth/educational-garden-farm/" target="_blank">Garden & Farm</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College has an active Pipe & Drum Band. Each year on Scholar’s Day in April the bagpipers wake students up at 6:00 a.m. by playing in the residence halls!</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/music/pipe-band/" target="_blank">Pipe Band</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College is proudly test optional. Applicants may choose whether or to submit SAT or ACT scores for admission and scholarship consideration. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/admission/apply/test-optional/" target="_blank">Test Optional</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> We’re no stranger to winning. Last year the Fighting Scots won Midwest Conference championships in Football, Women’s Soccer, Women’s Basketball and Men’s Track and Field. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_urls"><a href="https://monmouthscots.com/" target="_blank">Fighting Scots</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p><strong>Monmouth College is the birthplace of the women’s fraternity movement. Pi Beta Phi, the first such collegiate women’s organization, was founded at Monmouth in 1867. It was followed three years later by Kappa Kappa Gamma. The two pioneering organizations today boast a total of 275 active chapters nationwide.</strong></p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/student-life/sororities-fraternities/" target="_blank">Sororities & Fraternities</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College offers unique academic minors in Global Public Health and Global Food Security for students who want to use their education to address global challenges. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/global-public-health/" target="_blank">Global Public Health</a></li><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/global-food-security/" target="_blank">Global Food Security</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> We offer a certified Peace Corps Preparation program that gives Peace Corps bound graduates a leg up in the application process.</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/peace-corps-prep/" target="_blank">Peace Corps Prep</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> 98% of Monmouth graduates were employed or enrolled in graduate school within six months of graduation.</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/wackerle-center/career-services/" target="_blank">Career Preparation</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College offers several international trips each year during 2-week Scots Terms in January and May. Recently students have traveled to Botswana, Greece, Scotland, Japan, and more. </p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_urls"><a href="https://monmouthcollege.edu/offices/global-engagement/" target="_blank">Scots Term</a></li></ul></div></aside>
  • <aside class="factoid-item"><div class="factoid-item-text"><p> Monmouth College covers the cost for all current students to get a U.S. passport. Unlock access to over 198 different countries! We’ll even help with the paperwork :)</p></div><div class="factoid-item-links"><ul><li class="lw_related_page"><a href="/academics/study-abroad/" target="_blank">Study Abroad</a></li></ul></div></aside>