Symbol of Service: Celebrating the land-grant mission to feed the world

Symbol of Service: Celebrating the land-grant mission to feed the world

Friday, December 13, 2024

Media Contact: Sophia Fahleson | Digital Communications Specialist | 405-744-7063 | [email protected]

Sunshine lit the atrium decorated in bright orange as more than 100 faculty, staff and donors hurried to their seats. Students quickly filed in, stopping to admire the expansive brick building that boasts the words "Agricultural Hall."

Beyond the new paint and modern classrooms, one thing remains: pride, community and a sense of passion for the land-grant mission.

As the 2024-2025 school year began, the new Agricultural Hall opened. Faculty in the college were committed to celebrating the opening of the building in a meaningful way, said Jayson Lusk, Oklahoma State University Agriculture vice president and dean.

"The building isn't ours," Lusk said. "It's the university's, the students', the donors'. Because of that, we want them to feel like they're a part of it and this is their house, too.

"That's part of the motivation for the celebration - to say thank you and celebrate the fact this doesn't happen every day," Lusk added.

When moving out of his old office, Lusk was shown a photograph from 1969 of deans and university officials breaking a loaf of bread above a model of the former Agricultural Hall, now known as Legacy Hall, to celebrate the grand opening.

Lusk wanted to recreate the moment for the new building as a nod to the legacy and future of the Ferguson College of Agriculture, he said.

On Sept. 12, the bread-breaking ceremony was hosted in the atrium of the new Agricultural Hall.

"Today, we will continue a tradition that began in 1969 with Legacy Hall," Lusk said. "Our mission is the same as it was then - feeding the world."

A group of three joined Lusk to recreate the bread-breaking ceremony using a 5-foot loaf of bread: Cynda Clary, Ferguson College of Agriculture associate dean; Kayse Shrum, president of OSU; and Jimmy Harrel, chair of the OSU/A&M Board of Regents.

"To witness the bread-breaking in the new Agricultural Hall really was a cool experience," said Cade Harris, animal science junior. "It is a foundational theme for our mission statement of feeding the world. Despite moving buildings, I know our mission will always be the same."

The ceremony took place during Land-Grant Week, an initiative to celebrate and promote the land-grant mission of feeding the world through research, teaching, and extension.

"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," she added.

The creation of the bread was a nod to the land-grant mission, involving various departments, faculty and local businesses, Lusk said. "We were debating, 'Where do we find this big loaf of bread, and who can help us out?'" he said. "And then all of a sudden we thought, 'Well, if we can't do it here in the Oklahoma State University Ferguson College of Agriculture, who else can?'" Lusk said.

"We were debating, 'Where do we find this big loaf of bread, and who can help us out?'" he said.

"And then all of a sudden we thought, 'Well, if we can't do it here in the Oklahoma State University Ferguson College of Agriculture, who else can?'" Lusk said.

Reneé Albers-Nelson, milling and baking specialist for the Robert M. Kerr Food and Agricultural Products Center, led the collaborative effort to bake the oversized loaves of bread.

"A team developed the dough," Albers-Nelson said. "It really was a group effort.

"We just kept looking at the old picture trying to figure out how we would remake it," she added.

Lusk asked Albers-Nelson to bake the bread, but she was unsure where to start until a friend connected her with Cindy Cooper, owner of Cindy's Pizza, who had a 5-foot wide oven.

"Cindy was awesome," Albers-Nelson said. "She said, 'I have a mixer. I have flour here.' It took both of us to make the dough, and it was heavy - about 36 pounds."

Albers-Nelson and Cooper recruited Nick "Shorty" Semtner, OSU biosystems engineering technician, to build a large enough pan.

"Reneé said she needed a pan and didn't know what she was going to do," Semtner said. "All I needed to know was what size, how deep and what material. She goes, 'That's all?' To us, it's not that big of a deal, but we were Superman to her."

Semtner and fellow technician Michael "Si" Fleming made the pan in three hours from scrap stainless steel, Semtner said.

The pair was deeply honored to be a part of a historic ceremony, but the special construction felt like just another day for their department, he added with a laugh.

Preparing and baking the dough took more than three hours, and the staling process took one week to reach the most effective texture, Albers-Nelson said. The team baked five loaves to ensure they were prepared for the ceremony.

"Hearing my name at the ceremony, knowing I was a part of something so big, gave me chills," Cooper said. "I'm just a small-business owner, but that recognition meant everything."

Cooper values being a business owner in the Stillwater community and the access to opportunity it provides, she said.

"The resources at Oklahoma State are just phenomenal," Cooper said, when sharing her experience working with the FAPC. "I don't think enough people know about it.

"FAPC could help any business at any time," she added. "They're always there whenever I have a question and want to get me further in my business."

Land-grant institutions combine teaching, research, and extension and are exceptionally important for the agricultural industry and general public, said Blayne Arthur, Oklahoma Secretary of Agriculture. Oklahomans often do not realize the benefits land-grants schools provide, she added.

"OSU Extension has a presence in all 77 counties," Arthur said. "There's this very local piece of, 'How can we solve the challenges citizens have?'

"The new Agricultural Hall really builds on that community theme," she added, "letting people know, 'We want you to be here, we're glad you're here, and how can we be helpful?'"

On Oct. 4, 2024, a formal dedication recognized the donors who contributed to the new building fund.

"The New Frontiers campaign project is a testimony of what's possible when people come together," Lusk said. "We had the fastest academic building campaign in the history of OSU. Because of the donors, we will be the preeminent land-grant university."

More than 180 donors attended the event to receive student-led tours of the building and connect with other donors, said Laura Wuebker, agricultural communications and agri-business junior.

"It took every single one of you in this room," said Kayleen Ferguson, New Frontiers cornerstone donor. "We are appreciative that you joined us in the dream to build this building and improve the direction of the program of agriculture here at Oklahoma State."

The mission of feeding the world remains unchanged, said Larry

Ferguson, New Frontiers cornerstone donor. Food insecurity is prevalent in the world, he added, and donors, students, and faculty who support the mission can make a great impact.

"Agricultural Hall is going to be wherever the people are," Harris said. "It's more than just the building. We carry our mission wherever we go - we live out the land-grant mission, and that's really what it's all about."

Story by Reese Gonsalves | Cowboy Journal

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