University officials breaking bread during Ag Hall Grand Opening — Oklahoma State University Ferguson College of Agriculture Associate Dean Cynda Clary, OSU Agriculture Vice President and Dean Jayson Lusk, OSU President Kayse Shrum and OSU/A&M Board of Regents Chair Jimmy Harrel broke a 5-foot loaf of bread to celebrate the grand opening of Agricultural Hall, the new home of OSU Agriculture, and signify its mission to help feed the world. (Photo by Mitchell Alcala, OSU Agriculture)

OSU caps off Land-Grant Week celebration with grand opening of Ag Hall

Friday, September 13, 2024

Media Contact: Mandy Gross | Sr. Manager of Strategic and VP Communications | 405-744-4063 | mandy.gross@okstate.edu

The new home for the Oklahoma State University Ferguson College of Agriculture, OSU Ag Research and OSU Extension is now open.

OSU commemorated the grand opening of Agricultural Hall on Thursday with a celebration that included students, faculty, staff and university leaders.

“We have a lot to celebrate,” said Jayson Lusk, OSU Agriculture vice president and dean. “Not only are we celebrating the opening of our new facility, but we also are proud of the work we are doing to embrace the land-grant mission to promote learning, advance knowledge, enrich lives and stimulate economic development.”

OSU dubbed Sept. 9-13 Land-Grant Week — a celebration of the land-grant mission to serve the common good through research, teaching and Extension. Faculty, staff and students participated in a week of activities showcasing how OSU is helping advance the land-grant mission, culminating in the grand opening of the new, state-of-the-art facility.

When the final section of the original Agricultural Hall, now Legacy Hall, was formally dedicated in 1969, OSU dignitaries chose to break a loaf of bread rather than cut a ribbon to symbolize OSU Agriculture’s commitment to feeding a hungry world. During Land-Grant Week, OSU President Kayse Shrum, OSU/A&M Board of Regents Chair Jimmy Harrel and Ferguson College of Agriculture Associate Dean Cynda Clary joined Lusk in breaking a 5-foot loaf of bread in new Agricultural Hall to continue that tradition.

“The opening of this facility is a transformational milestone for OSU Agriculture,” Shrum said. “It further cements OSU’s position as a leader in innovation and will help us continue to recruit promising students and world-class faculty. The work students and faculty will undertake at Agricultural Hall truly embodies our land-grant mission to address society's most pressing challenges and will elevate teaching, research and Extension efforts critical to the state’s economy, citizens’ safety and quality of life.”

The New Frontiers public campaign to fund and build a new facility for OSU Agriculture began in 2020. Easton Fraser, an animal science senior from Grapevine, Texas, said he has been looking forward to the opening of Agricultural Hall since construction started in May 2021, and the new building has already proven to be more than he had hoped.

"Watching students, faculty and staff interact in the Ag Hall lobby or in line at Larry and Kay’s Dairy Bar has been so refreshing,” Fraser said. “Our new home provides many more opportunities for collaboration, connection and conversation, and that doesn't even start to describe the impact it will have. I have seen the engagement the space encourages in class, and I am excited about the advancements in research and Extension that will be possible with all the new resources.”

The building, which received students for the first time as classes began this fall, prioritizes collaboration in strategically designed spaces. It features state-of-the-art research and teaching labs as well as interactive classrooms to harness energy and increase innovation.

“The state-of-the-art research laboratories, cutting-edge teaching classrooms and collaborative spaces — including the Dairy Bar, huddle rooms, and club and study spaces — make it a student-friendly building and will foster an enhanced, vibrant sense of community we’ve come to expect and love about OSU,” Lusk said.

Damona Doye and Jayson Lusk with OSU Extension 110th Anniversary cupcakes — OSU Extension Associate Vice President Damona Doye and OSU Agriculture Vice President and Dean Jayson Lusk blow out candles on cupcakes to celebrate the 110th anniversary of OSU Extension during Land-Grant Week.

Other OSU Agriculture activities during Land-Grant Week included a Dean’s Dialogue with special guest Robert Hodgen of King Ranch, a commemoration of the 110th anniversary of OSU Extension, an Oklahoma 4-H open house and the promotion of OSU Ag Research projects and initiatives.

The inaugural Land-Grant Week included tours of various on-campus labs and facilities, such as the College of Arts and Sciences' Costume Design Lab and Speech-Language-Hearing and Audiology clinics. It also featured an information campaign to raise public awareness about the land-grant mission and the many ways it impacts communities throughout Oklahoma and beyond. The three pillars of the land-grant mission are:

Instruction: OSU provides the highest quality education in various majors using the latest teaching methods. Faculty experts prepare OSU students for fulfilling careers and empower them to grow into community leaders.
Research: A Carnegie R1 research institution, OSU is creating the next generation of scientists, thinkers and scholars. OSU research is focused on finding solutions to the world’s most pressing problems and leveraging cutting-edge research and discoveries to improve lives.
Extension: OSU’s Cooperative Extension connects people worldwide with the latest research and practical solutions. OSU Extension makes a transformational impact by sharing practical education across Oklahoma — solving problems, developing skills and building a better future.