Olds College Receives

Collaboration Leads to Growth

Olds College Receives $2 Million Towards Student Learning & the Smart Farm

Bob and Carollyne Collier recently gifted $2 million to support enhanced learning experiences for students attending the Werklund School of Agriculture Technology, and to support growth of smart ag applied research and the Olds College Smart Farm.

“We are incredibly grateful for the generous support of Bob and Carollyne Collier,” comments Stuart Cullum, President, Olds College. “On behalf of Olds College, I would like to sincerely thank Bob and Carollyne for their continued support of our students and the agriculture industry.”

Bob was an entrepreneur — he admired the innovation taking place at Olds College and wanted to support entrepreneurial-minded students. The donation will support the development and delivery of enhanced academic programming, and further the Olds College Smart Farm as an innovative learning, demonstration and applied research environment for students, producers and the agriculture sector in Alberta and around the globe.

Bob and Carollyne previously established the Bob Collier Award with a generous pledge of $300,000 in support of student innovation and entrepreneurship, which provides five annual awards of $6,000 to Olds College students. They also provided an additional donation towards the construction of The Hive, a state-of-art student lounge in the College’s Learning Resource Centre. In recognition of their $2 million gift, the heart of the new Ag Tech Learning Hub will be named the Bob & Carollyne Collier Student Commons and will be a central gathering space for students, faculty and guests of Olds College. The Ag Tech Learning Hub is on track to open for classes in September 2022.

“We continue to be so inspired by the entrepreneurial spirit shown by the students who receive our annual award each year,” comments Carollyne Collier. “We hope that the students look up at the beautiful ceiling in the Student Commons and feel inspired to take on any challenge that comes their way.”

Thank you to Bob and Carollyne Collier for their continued support of Olds College students, the Smart Farm and the agriculture industry.

Bob and Carollyne Collier inside the Ag Tech Learning Hub with Patrick Machacek (left), Vice President, Development & Strategy, and Stuart Cullum (right), President of Olds College.