Arkansas Tech University marked the beginning of a new construction project that will support its oldest academic program when it broke ground on the Farm Credit Agriculture Building at the ATU Farm on Thursday, Aug. 15.

“More than 100 years after we were founded as the Second District Agricultural School, we are still farmers at Arkansas Tech University,” said Dr. Russell Jones, ATU president, during the ceremony. “Our optimism has been sustained for generations by graduates who have taken the lessons learned here…on this farm and in the nearby classrooms…and used them to help sustain and grow Arkansas’ No. 1 industry: agriculture.

“Our optimism remains strong today because of the quality of our agriculture faculty, the quality of our agriculture programs and the quality of our modern-day agriculture students,” continued Jones. “As you look upon the Tech Farm…remembering what was and looking forward to what will be…please know that our commitment to agriculture is as strong as ever. Just as we have done for more than a century, Arkansas Tech will continue to be responsive to the changing needs of the agriculture industry and serve as an advocate for agricultural education.”

The Farm Credit Agriculture Building will house welding equipment, a tool storage area, classroom space, laboratory space and other equipment. Construction of the facility will begin during the 2024-25 academic year.

Farm Credit, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Greenway Equipment and Arvest Bank are among the financial contributors who are making the construction project possible. The building will be outfitted with equipment provided by a federal grant earned for ATU by Congressman Steve Womack.

Len Cotton of Dardanelle, chairman of the ATU Board of Trustees, spoke to the crowd about the history of the agriculture program at Arkansas Tech, which dates back to the founding of the institution in 1909.

“Agriculture has changed dramatically,” said Cotton. “The Second District Agricultural School has changed so much…evolving to become Arkansas Polytechnic College and Arkansas Tech University. Needless to say, the world around us has changed…a great deal of it for the better. But one thing that has remained the same is that this land has been committed to farming and this school has remained committed to providing a high-caliber education in agriculture.

“The Farm Credit Agriculture Building represents the next chapter in the story of Arkansas Tech’s agriculture program,” continued Cotton. “This facility will allow our program to remain at the forefront of ag education. As a result, we will continue to produce graduates who are prepared to take on leadership roles in agriculture business and agricultural education.”

Dr. Michael Bradley, head of the ATU Department of Agriculture and Tourism, and Emily Woodall, chair of the ATU agriculture program advisory board, also spoke at the groundbreaking.