World Grain - March 2023 - 62

UNVEILS PLANS FOR INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE
New home for Department of Grain Science and Industry is part of project
by Arvin Donley
A computer
rendering of
the soon-tobe-built
Global
Grain and Food
Innovation Center
(highlighted in
purple), which will
be located next
to Weber Hall
and Call Hall.
K
ansas State University (KSU) has raised $81.4
million for an infrastructure upgrade of several
departments within the College of Agriculture, including
the Department of Grain Science and Industry,
university representatives said in a recent exclusive interview
with editors from Sosland Publishing Co.
The initial money raised from contributions from
private and corporate donors, as well as $50 million
in pledged appropriations from the Kansas legislature,
will allow KSU to begin phase one of the upgrade in
the coming months. A second phase is expected to follow,
but additional funds will need to be secured for
that plan to come to fruition, said Ernie Minton, dean of
KSU's College of Agriculture and director of K-State
Research and Extension.
The plan includes the deactivation and razing of
Shellenberger Hall, which has been home to
the
Department of Grain Science and Industry since 1960,
and the construction of a new building on the north
side of campus, Minton said. Also part of phase one
will be the construction of an agronomy center that will
house the field research component of the Department
of Agronomy, including the wheat breeding program,
and renovations to the Department of Animal Science's
Weber Hall and Call Hall.
Kicking off the infrastructure project will be construction
of the agronomy center, which Minton said
should begin toward the end of this year and be com62
pleted
in 2024. Construction of the new Global Grain
and Food Innovation Center will follow soon thereafter.
" We have set ourselves up for what we hope to be
a second-to-none student experience and continue the
success we've had with research outreach and engagement, "
Minton said.
Minton said the state legislature initially committed
$25 million to the plan and pledged an additional $25
million as a 1-to-3 match if the university raised $75
million. Susan Metzger, associate director for agriculture
and extension at KSU, said the donations raised by
the university along with the money pledged from the
state puts the overall total at about $125 million. But
there is more fundraising to be done.
" The project is going to be a little over $200 million
when it's all said and done, " Metzger said. " We've
made some great progress here. "
To achieve the $81 million in donations, Metzger
said KSU received $51.1 million from individual donors,
$11.5 million from ag and commodity stakeholders
and organizations, $10 million from industry partners
and $8.8 million from a land sale. That included a
$5 million gift from the Kansas Farm Bureau and a $4
million donation by the Kansas Soybean Association
and Commission, she said, noting that the university
received numerous other significant donations but
many of the donors wish to remain anonymous.
Minton said phase two of the project will include adMarch
2023 / World Grain / World-Grain.com
Photos courtesy of Kansas State University
http://www.World-Grain.com
World Grain - March 2023

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