Agricultural News
Groundbreaking Ceremonies For Ag Building Usher in New Era of Teaching And Research at OSU
Sun, 25 Apr 2021 15:21:43 CDT
Construction has started on a new Ferguson College of Agriculture building on the OSU campus that will change everything, said Dr. Tom Coon, OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Administration (DASNR) Dean and Vice President, during groundbreaking ceremonies Friday on the campus in Stillwater.
Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays caught up with Dr. Coon following the ceremony.
It is fun to reach this milestone, but we still have about 30 months of construction to get through, he said.
We really are going to see the fulfillment of this vision that so many people have contributed to, Coon said.
I am excited to see how it's going to change the way we do things, he said.
In a traditional university classroom, the seats are nailed to the floor, students can't turn around, can't talk to each other, Coon said.
The way we teach today is fundamentally changed from that, he said.
This will enable our creative faculty to adopt new ways of teaching to get students more involved, he said.
The new design will also impact research.
We're going to have faculty working together and graduate students will be able to come and go and interact with them, Coon said.
The central location of the new building will allow for all aspects of the college to interact closely together.
It is at the heart of our college, Coon said.
We've designed it to encourage people to stick around, interact with each other, Coon said.
Along with the financial gift from the Ferguson family came a vision, Coon said.
They said we have been called to feed the world, as we are here to make sure people don't go hungry, Coon said.
Renovation of the older buildings and research facilities is also underway to match the new construction, Coon said.
Our next big challenge is the agronomy farm, Coon said, noting the extreme cold in February destroyed much of the wheat research conducted at that facility's old greenhouses.
We've got to equip our scientists with state-of-the-art facilities so they can continue the leading edge, which is why we call our campaign "the new frontiers," he said.
Naming rights for the new facilities are available, at a price ranging from $25,000 on up, Coon said.
I could tell seven years ago there is tremendous support for this college in this state, so let's show it, Coon added.
You can click on the listen bar below to hear more of Ron's interview with Dr. Tom Coon.
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