New animal sciences complex has immediate impact

It was three years in the making, and in March, the Purdue community came together to dedicate its new animal sciences complex. The $60 million, 123,000-square-foot facility includes the Hobart and Russell Creighton Hall of Animal Sciences and Land O’Lakes, Inc. Center for Experiential Learning. The building’s dedication took place in the adjoining Purina Pavilion, the best location for people to interact with the event’s other special guests: farm animals.

Features of the new complex are already advancing research, teaching and engagement in animal sciences. The classrooms and open workspaces in Hobart and Russell Creighton Hall provide interactive and team-based learning spaces for students. Conference rooms can host university and Extension activities. New offices and lab spaces house faculty and staff, graduate students and U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists as well as staff of Indiana animal regulatory agencies.

“Hobart and Russell Creighton were great visionaries. Our family believes they would be so pleased with Creighton Hall and how it will enhance Purdue’s fulfillment of the land-grant mission and the work of the animal sciences department,” said Eddie Creighton, chairman of the board of egg producer Creighton Brothers LLC of Warsaw, Indiana, and a second-generation family owner. “Since our company’s inception, we have enjoyed a close partnership with the university, and we look forward to seeing the impact this facility will have on the animal agriculture industry.”

The Land O’Lakes, Inc. Center includes research and teaching space for meat and protein sciences, and houses the Boilermaker Butcher Block, where students learn food safety and how to tenderize, cut and age meat that the public can purchase. The Purina Pavilion serves as a space for livestock care, handling and evaluation, and to host events for students, Purdue Extension, and extracurricular and youth activities.

"At Land O’Lakes, Inc., we are proud of our deep and enduring partnership with Purdue University. We look forward to seeing what Purdue students will contribute to what I believe is the greatest growth industry of our time." —Chris Policinski, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Watch for the fall issue of Envision, where we’ll show you how animal sciences research extends from the pen to the plate.