| About | Students | Future Students | Alumni | Faculty/Staff |
Agricultural Education and Alumni Center
During the last decade, the College of Agriculture and Ag Alumni Association have transformed 30 acres of pastureland and dilapidated buildings in the heart of campus into a beautiful park for students, alumni and the community.
The lake, pavilion and Red Barn, make Ag Heritage Park the ideal location for alumni gatherings, educational outreach, student events and community functions. But unless funds are raised quickly to complete the crown jewel of the complex - an Agricultural Education and Alumni Center - much of the park could be lost forever.
Ag Heritage Park was recently targeted as the location for a new 1,000-car parking garage, and although those plans were changed, the park is now in the crosshairs for future development.
To preserve Ag Heritage Park, we must secure funds to complete the renovation of a new Agricultural Education and Alumni Center on the north side of the park. The center, which will occupy the same architectural footprint as the former dairy barn, will provide space for teaching, alumni activities and industry outreach, as well as educational areas honoring the past, present and future contributions of agriculture to society.
The estimated renovation cost is priced at $1.5 million. Thanks to donated materials and the work of the College's Agricultural Land and Resource Management team the initial phase of the renovation is almost completed. However, additional funding is required to complete the overall project. If those funds are not secured soon, the University will likely confiscate at least one-third of Ag Heritage Park for other purposes.
We must act now to preserve Ag Heritage Park by fully funding the final major project at the complex - our Agricultural Education and Alumni Center. This new facility will sit atop the hill at Ag Heritage Park, overlooking the new lake and Alabama Farmers Pavilion. It will provide much-needed classroom space for the College of Agriculture as well as an area for faculty and alumni activities. It also will house educational displays and will serve as the gathering point for campus tours, agricultural field trips and industry outreach functions.
Together with the Red Barn and Farmers Pavilion, the new center will position Ag Heritage Park as the premier meeting and event complex on campus. More importantly, it will help preserve Ag Heritage Park as a community green space that recognizes the agricultural heritage of Auburn University and the importance of farming.
Please join us in preserving Ag Heritage Park by making a generous donation toward the completion of the Agricultural Education and Alumni Center. For more information on this project, contact Mark Wilton at 334-844-1198 or Robert Hensarling at 334-844-3596.
HISTORY
Built in 1929, the original Dairy Barn's two wings contained two rows of 12 stanchions used as holding pens for milking activities. A small area off the connecting breezeway housed areas for straining, cooling and handling the milk. After each cow was milked, the buckets were manually carried from the milking area to the scales. As one former student commented, "the milking process gave you a real workout."
This facility was used as a milking barn until 1948 when a new research unit was built in North Auburn; however, teaching activities continued on site for many years.
In 2005, Dr. Amy Wright, associate professor in the Horticulture Department, worked with students to design appropriate landscaping that can be "re-invented" each semester as an ongoing outdoor design laboratory.
Another student-centered work project took place in early 2009 as the AU Design Build Masters Program developed plans for renovation of this structure. Possible uses include a retail area, classrooms, and meeting facilities. As part of the process, students worked with Ag Land & Resource Management crews to gut the west wing of the Dairy Barn, reroof and stabilize this section until the next stage of this project is funded.
The AU Agricultural Alumni Association has launched a fundraising project for the replication of this structure. Click here for more information or contact Mark Wilton at 334-844-1198.
Below is a conceptual drawing of the future Dairy Barn.
Last Updated: June 29, 2011
