91传媒 faculty, administrators celebrate completion of Animal and Dairy Sciences Building
Contact: Vanessa Beeson
![Administrators and partners involved in making the Animal and Dairy Sciences Building a reality were on hand to commemorate the opening of the building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday [Sept. 30].](/sites/www.msstate.edu/files/inline-images/20190930_ADS-Ribbon-Cutting_01_full.jpg)
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi State officials commemorated the completion of the new Animal and Dairy Sciences Building with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Monday [Sept. 30].
The 34,500-square-foot building is part of a complex at the corner of Blackjack Road and Hail State Boulevard, which also includes the newly constructed, 15,000-square-foot Meat Science and Muscle Biology Laboratory that opened last fall. A 27,300-square-foot Poultry Science Building is anticipated for completion in spring 2020.
鈥淭he new Animal and Dairy Sciences Building provides our students and faculty with an exceptional teaching and learning environment,鈥 said 91传媒 President Mark E. Keenum. 鈥淭his building, as well as the recently completed Meat Science and Muscle Biology Lab and the Poultry Science Building under construction, will further enhance Mississippi State鈥檚 national and international leadership in agricultural sciences research and education.鈥
George Hopper, dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, emphasized how the building positions the department for the future.
鈥淭he Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences has a legacy of training future leaders in animal agriculture,鈥 Hopper said. 鈥淭his facility will allow department faculty and staff to expand teaching, research and outreach efforts to assist the more than 16,000 livestock farmers in Mississippi.鈥
The state is home to approximately 16,000 cattle and calf operations, 300 hog farms and 70 dairies. In 2018, these entities had the combined production value of $422 million. Additionally, the state鈥檚 equestrian activities continue to have about $1.15 billion economic impact annually.
In addition to Keenum and Hopper, administrators speaking at the ceremony included Reuben Moore, interim vice president of the Division of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine; Gary Jackson, director of the 91传媒 Extension Service; and John Blanton, department head and interim associate director of the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station.聽Representatives from general contractor Century Construction and Tupelo-based McCarty Architects also were on hand.
The Animal and Dairy Sciences Building will serve the department鈥檚 growing student body, which includes approximately 430 undergraduates and 30 graduate students. The facility also will house the department鈥檚 some 40 faculty members and staff. The space includes classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, conference rooms and a graduate assistant suite. A food retail space on the first floor, adjacent to the main lobby, has been named by the Mississippi State Equine Association. A 5,000-square-foot connector building between the Animal and Dairy Sciences Building and the Poultry Building also is under construction.
The Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences offers a bachelor鈥檚 degree with concentrations in business and industry, production management and science/veterinary science. Master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees are offered in agriculture and agricultural sciences. The department includes faculty members in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station and the 91传媒 Extension Service. Learn more about the Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences at .
91传媒 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .