On Friday, Nov. 6, Rod Learned will visit Sterling College to speak at the annual Oscar Schmidt Lecture Series convocation. Learned has worked for Koch Industries since 1998, serving as the first-ever director of internal communication for the company. He now manages the corporate archive and serves as the company’s historian. The event, which is free and open to the public, will take place at 10 a.m. in Culbertson Auditorium in Spencer Hall on the Sterling College campus.

“We are honored to have Rod Learned visit Sterling College for the Oscar Schmidt Lecture Series convocation. I am excited to hear what Learned has to say about his time spent at Koch Industries. This is a great opportunity for our students, especially for those pursuing a degree in communications, to receive guidance from someone who has excelled in a variety of positions because of his skills for effective communication,” said Dr. Ken Brown, vice president for academic affairs.

In addition to his work at Koch Industries, Learned edited “The Science of Success” and “Good Profit,” two best-selling books written by Koch Industries’ Chairman and CEO, Charles Koch.

Learned, whose father graduated from Sterling College in 1955, earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcasting from John Brown University before he completed executive management training courses at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Before working at Koch Industries, Learned worked as an award-winning broadcaster and ad agency creative, and held positions at the Walt Disney Company and the rental division of London-based Thorn-EMI. Learned’s other accolades include winning the national championship in the National Forensics League and being the youngest person in Kansas to earn a broker’s license.

Learned and his wife are lifelong citizens of Wichita, Kansas, where they have served on numerous local nonprofit boards.

Based in Wichita, Koch Industries is one of the world’s largest and most successful companies. It employs more than 100,000 people in approximately 60 countries worldwide, with 60,000 of those in the United States. Since January 2009, Koch has earned more than 1,000 awards for safety, environmental excellence, community stewardship, innovation and customer service.

The Oscar Schmidt Lecture Series is an endowed series by C. Oscar Schmidt Jr. of Cincinnati, Ohio, that occurs on three campuses across the country: Sterling College, the University of Iowa, and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. Schmidt was strongly oriented in the free enterprise system and intended that the series assist undergraduates in understanding the system and how it continues to help the success of the United States.

Sterling College is a Christ-centered, four-year college located in Sterling, Kansas, with a mission to develop creative and thoughtful leaders who understand a maturing Christian faith. For more information, visit www.sterling.edu.