Embarking on New Frontiers

Embarking on New Frontiers

From the Land Run of 1889 to present-day research, Oklahomans have raced toward new frontiers. Founded before statehood under the Morrill Act as Oklahoma A&M College, Oklahoma State University continues to extend its impact.

The OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources is embarking on new ways to discover, to structure their research, and to teach, said Thomas Coon, vice president and director of the division.

The New Frontiers fundraising campaign will create a new home for the recently renamed OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture, he said.

“The campaign is not just about replacing an old building,” Coon said. “This campaign is about changing the way we teach, offer extension programming, and do research, and it will provide a new environment to do so.”

He said joining the New Frontiers campaign can help position the college and division as a national leader in research, teaching and extension.

Heidi Williams, senior director and New Frontiers Campaign lead for the OSU Foundation, said this project has some urgency as the current building creates limits to what students and faculty can achieve. They are deserving of being in a space that matches their talents and abilities, she said. The new building is going to help them achieve new heights through a modern space in which to learn and do research, she added.

The building is a $100 million project, with $50 million coming from private support and $50 million coming from OSU and other resources, Williams said. More than $33 million in private support has been raised, but the rest is still needed, she added.

Cornerstone donors are those who commit gifts of $1 million or more, Williams said. As of Aug. 15, 2020, more than $34 million has been raised, and seven cornerstone donors have contributed to the campaign: the Ferguson Family Foundation, John and Virginia Groendyke, an anonymous donor, Barry Pollard/P&K Equipment, Win and Kay Ingersoll, Frank and Ludmila Robson, and the Sunderland Foundation. They will have first rights to naming opportunities in the new building, Williams said. Fifteen silent phase donors also have contributed, she added.

Groendyke said he donated to the New Frontiers campaign because OSU needs a new agriculture building to be competitive with schools in surrounding states.

“The new facility will attract students to come to Oklahoma State,” Groendyke said. “If you want to pursue an agriculture degree, this will be the place to come.

The new home of the Ferguson College of Agriculture will offer a modern twist, while staying true to the unique architectural theme and design the Cowboy family knows and loves.

Illustration courtesy of the OSU Foundation.

“Oklahoma State has a long history of being an excellent institution for agriculture and what better way to support future students than to give them a world-class facility.”

Williams said the impact of giving to this campaign is transformational. A building project for agriculture has not occurred in more than 60 years, so this campaign provides an opportunity for donors to invest in students and faculty who solve problems to advance Oklahoma and beyond, she added.

During the feasibility study, alumni agreed the agriculture program needs a new building, Williams said. Alumni, donors and the industry need to come together to make this vision a reality, she added.

The new agriculture building is estimated to be finished in fall 2023, Williams said. Agricultural Hall will continue to be used by the division and the university as general classroom and office space, she added.

“We are embarking on new frontiers with a new building that will allow us to advance in teaching, research and extension,” Williams said.

Taylor Harbuck, Ferguson College of Agriculture career development coordinator, said the college has outgrown the current facility. Agricultural Hall was designed when the college had half the number of students it has now, he added.

In the last decade, the college’s enrollment has increased by more than 600 students.

Renderings provide students and staff with a fresh perspective of what can be expected of the new building set to house the Ferguson

Members of the faculty and staff, including Harbuck, are serving on a planning committee for the new 195,000-square-foot building. Academic departments have representatives from research, teaching and extension on the committee, he added.

All academic departments will have a presence in the new building, but that presence will vary by department, Harbuck said. Units housed outside of Agricultural Hall will not move into the new building, but they will have access to the new resources for cross-college functions, he added.

The location for the new building was selected to keep researchers close together, Williams said.

The new building will be situated in the middle of the current research facilities in the Animal Science Building, the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center, the Noble Research Center and the Henry Bellmon Research Center.

The new agriculture building will have state-of-the-art laboratories for research, Coon said. The modern facilities will restructure the way the division conducts research, he added.

“We are moving away from the individual investigator and moving into teams of investigators who bring their expertise to a project that meets all needs," Coon said.

Renderings provide students and staff with a fresh perspective of what can be inspected of the new building set to house the Ferguson College of Agriculture.

Illustration courtesy of the OSU Foundation.

Coon said much of the equipment in Agricultural Hall is fixed in place in labs and classrooms. The adaptable and adjustable spaces needed for different teaching and learning styles will be part of the new building, he added.

Coon said the architects are focused on ensuring new resources meet future research and teaching needs. Nothing placed in rooms will be permanent to allow professors to bring in the resources they need, he added.

“The classrooms will be similar to a stage set,” Coon said. “If you need something, you will be able to bring it into your classroom, but you have not done anything to impair how someone else uses the room.”

Williams said the new building will be a place where students and faculty will want to be and can interact with each other.

“The Ferguson College of Agriculture is a close-knit family,” Williams said. “We have always prided ourselves on this close community.”

The new building will have a lot of space to foster this community and environment, Williams said. Architects call it “sticky space,” where people can stick around after class and run into students and faculty members to visit, she added.

Harbuck said many alumni requested the return of the Dairy Bar duringthe developmental work for the new building. This caféstyle dining option was once across the street from Agricultural Hall.

“A lot of alumni lost a piece of the college’s history when we lost the Dairy Bar,” Harbuck said. “Bringing it back will provide this memory for future students.” The Student Success Center will be located in the front of the new building. The Dairy Bar will be located in close proximity to foster the community environment, he added.

“We have a lot of opportunities as a land-grant university for students to be involved on the academic level,” Harbuck said. “We have to have the facilities for the college to continue to be a premier institution.”

Coon said as part of a land-grant institution, the division has a mission to be a public resource to all through OSU Extension.

“As a resource, we are here to provide access to public education and provide research that helps address the needs of communities, businesses, families, farms and ranches,” Coon said. “We can then deliver that research in a way people can use and put to work.”

OSU Agriculture has three components: teaching, research and extension. The Ferguson College of Agriculture is the teaching component, the Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station is the research component, and the Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service is the extension component.

“The promise of land-grant institutions is they conduct research in the public interest,” Coon said. “That research forms the basis of student education in academic programs and the basis for the translation in extension, outreach and service.”

Blayne Arthur, Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture, said because of the land-grant mission, the OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture has a multi-level impact on Oklahoma. It provides a work-force and takes research conducted on campus to the field, she added.

“The students who come from the Ferguson College of Agriculture are those who are very employable, contribute to their communities, and really help move the state forward,” Arthur said.

As a 2004 agricultural economics alumna, Arthur said she spent most of her college time in Agricultural Hall. Except for a few renovations, the building is the same as when most alumni took classes, she added.

“We have top-tier faculty and staff,” Arthur said. “We need to make sure we have a facility that matches up with the faculty and staff we have.”

The gallery view of the new Ferguson College of Agriculture as one enters from the west. This portion of the facility will include work space for students as well access to the Student Success Center.

Illustration courtesy of the OSU Foundation.

Arthur said the upgrades to the lab facilities are a big win for the college and state. If OSU wants to lead in agricultural research, the lab facilities are incredibly important, she added.

“As an ag kid who attended OSU, it is exciting that we will have a facility we are all very proud of and one we can recruit new students to,” Arthur said.

Future students will be able to learn in a high-quality environment and have top-of-the-line technology and facilities to have the best educational experience, Arthur said.

“New Frontiers represents the endless possibilities in agriculture,” Arthur said. “The college is setting the bar high with endless opportunities for students to be successful.”

MCKENZIE CARVALHO

Story by McKenzie Carvalho of Colusa County California.