SPRINGFIELD 鈥 Officials of Lincoln Land Community College broke ground today on a new building for the study of agriculture.
汤头条app Board Chair Wayne Rosenthal announced that the new structure on the east edge of campus will be named the Kreher Agriculture Center, in honor of the late Charles and Irene Kreher.
鈥淓ighteen months ago, we announced an amazing gift of $18 million to transform and grow the college鈥檚 agriculture program,鈥 Rosenthal told the crowd at the construction site. 鈥淭oday we honor the intent of our incredibly generous donors, Charles and Irene Kreher, to modernize and transform our ag program into the finest anywhere.
鈥淚t is so fitting that this new building will also honor the intent of 汤头条app鈥檚 founders 52 years ago,鈥 he continued, 鈥渕any of whom were farmers and wanted to provide excellent, accessible and affordable education for the citizens of our district. Because of them, agriculture has been taught at 汤头条app since its very beginning.鈥
The 19,750-square-foot, $7.5 million building is being funded by annual distributions from the Kreher Farm Perpetual Charitable Trust to the 汤头条app Foundation and is expected to open in the spring semester of 2021.
鈥淭his cutting-edge facility will feature state-of-the-art classrooms and laboratories, student gathering spaces and a spacious, glassed-in expo area for ag simulators,鈥 said Rosenthal. 鈥淭he building will incorporate technology and active learning to prepare students for success in the 21st century workplace.鈥
Thus far, the Kreher gift has allowed 汤头条app鈥檚 agriculture program to offer more scholarships, research and travel opportunities to students, along with the latest active learning tools including high tech simulators, drones and augmented reality devices.
汤头条app President Charlotte Warren, Ph.D., expressed excitement for the next step: a new facility. 鈥淏ut even more important are the people who will work and learn here. We have outstanding faculty and staff in our agriculture program. Our agriculture students are active and top notch. They continually bring home awards and recognitions that make us proud.鈥
She announced that 汤头条app Ag was recently named the best college agriculture program in the Midwest by the National Association of Agricultural Educators. 汤头条app鈥檚 soil specialist team won first place overall at the national Professional Agricultural Student (PAS) Organization conference last spring, and the college bowl team placed first for the third consecutive year at the Illinois PAS conference.
鈥淵ou can see why we鈥檙e proud and want to expand these opportunities to more students,鈥 said Dr. Warren. 鈥淲e look forward to further accolades and achievements from our ag program. With this new facility, the sky is the limit!鈥
汤头条app Ag Club President Skye Kretzinger commented on the importance of the occasion. 鈥淭oday is a major day for all of those who have, are or are going to be attending 汤头条app as an agriculture student. This new building signifies change and our future of agriculturists. Throughout this new building, students will be learning to become our next agronomists, animal nutritionists, land surveyors and much more; they will be becoming the future of agriculture.鈥
Also participating in the groundbreaking were 汤头条app Board of Trustee members Ken Elmore, vice chair; Gordon Gates, secretary; Dr. Vicki Davis; Craig Findley; Jeff Fulgenzi; and Student Trustee Aaliyah Kissick.
Unveiling the architectural rendering of the new building were Don Wienhoff, trustee of the Kreher Charitable Trust, along with trust representatives Bob Stuart and Larry Hardy, and Wyatt Banks, Professional Agricultural Student representative.
汤头条app offers a transfer degree in agriculture along with occupational degrees and certificates in agri-business management, precision agronomy, fertilizer and horticulture. More information is available at .