FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Patricia Woertz, chair of the board of directors of Archer Daniels Midland Co., is the speaker this year for the fourth annual Dale and Betty Bumpers Distinguished Lecture Series, presented by the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas.

Her presentation is titled, “The Emerging Global Middle Class: Threat or Opportunity?”

The event, which is co-sponsored this year by the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and the Sam M. Walton College of Business, will be held from 1:30 to 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 31, in the Leland Tollett Auditorium of the John W. Tyson Building. The event is free and open to students, faculty and staff. Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

“We are thrilled to announce Patricia Woertz as our speaker for this year’s Dale and Betty Bumpers Distinguished Lecture Series,” said Bumpers College Dean Mike Vayda. “Archer Daniels Midland’s primary business segments of oilseed processing, corn processing and agricultural services help meet the growing global need for food and food ingredients. Our college is dedicated to preparing students for careers associated with the businesses of foods while protecting the environment. This is a wonderful opportunity for audience members to hear a highly respected executive talk about her company’s success in addressing several of the same areas we seek to advance.”

Archer Daniels Midland is headquartered in Chicago.

Woertz joined the company as CEO and president in April 2006 and served as CEO until December 2014. She was named chair of the board in February 2007 and continues to serve in that capacity. During her tenure, Woertz drove efforts to improve shareholder returns while growing the business through acquisitions, capital investments and partnerships. Under her leadership, Archer Daniels Midland strengthened its global network and grew its portfolio of higher-margin products.

Woertz began her career as a certified public accountant with Ernst & Ernst — later Ernst & Young — in Pittsburgh. Attracted to the complexity and opportunity of a global company, she joined the Gulf Oil Corp. (later Chevron) in 1977, where she held various positions in finance, strategic planning, refining and marketing. In 2001, she was named executive vice president in charge of Chevron’s global refining, marketing, lubricant, and supply and trading operations.

She serves on the boards of directors of Procter & Gamble Co., Royal Dutch Shell PLC and UI LABS, a public-private collaboration that fosters research and commercialization efforts to solve large-scale industrial challenges. Woertz earned her bachelor’s degree in accounting from Pennsylvania State University.

Speakers in the Dale and Betty Bumpers Distinguished Lecture Series are selected by a panel of faculty following recommendations from faculty in the college.

The Tyson Family Foundation and the Tyson Foods Foundation made a gift to help endow the Dale and Betty Bumpers Distinguished Lecture Series, which was launched in April 2012 with a visit from former President Bill Clinton. Other speakers include U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack (2013), and international food security consultant and former president of Heifer International Jo Luck (2014).

The series symbolizes the Bumpers College’s focus on three vital issues: the international prominence of Arkansas agriculture and food industries; the importance of environmental stewardship and sustainability for the strength and vibrancy of our economy; and the quality of life as championed by Betty Bumpers on behalf of child wellness, human development and healthy living choices. The college seeks to advance the business of foods and impact of foods on human health, environmental sustainability and human quality of life.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.