WILBERFORCE, Ohio — Central State University announced the development of two new buildings on its campus — a 24,000 square feet farm operations and storage facility, and a new research facility for the university’s land-grant mission and researchers working on projects funded by United States Department of Agriculture and other agencies.
Record
Central State faculty and staff set a new school record in sponsored research and external funding for the third consecutive year by earning over $50 million during the 2021-22 fiscal year. These funds were used to enhance CSU’s physical infrastructure, increase faculty research and scholarly activities, increase community engagement and outreach and provide students with scholarships and experiential learning opportunities, according to a university release.
The new research facility will be on state Route 42 near the water tower on the CSU campus in Wilberforce, Ohio, and will be the first major facility constructed on campus since the completion of the University Student Center in 2015. The building will be 40,000 square feet. Core laboratories will occupy a portion of the space, and the remaining area will be shell space to allow for future collaborations with corporate partners in the areas of agricultural sciences and technologies.
Central State researchers working in precision agriculture, food safety, and basic sciences will occupy the first spaces developed in the facility.
Farm
A new 24,000 square feet farm operations and storage facility to house researchers’ farm equipment, field offices, and maintenance operations for those research plots located on the farm will be built.
The new facilities will be at a new entrance for the 100 acres designated in the university’s master plan as the Land Grand Demonstration and Research Farm. The storage building is expected to be complete in early 2024. The project is funded entirely to date by the funds received by the university from the USDA and Ohio as part of its annual allocation of resources to support the University’s 1890 Land-Grant mission.
Currently, researchers have annual plots there for specialized corn varieties, industrial hemp, raspberries, aquaponics, beekeeping, and other projects sponsored by the university, industry collaborators and the USDA.
Grants
Central State has several major USDA grant projects in process:
– A $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was awarded to the university for the “Sustainable Aquaculture Production of High Omega 3 Containing Fish Using a Novel Feed Additive.” Project goals include researching the potential use of hemp as an aquaculture feed, training and equipping new aquaculture producers, increasing local production of produce and healthy fish and providing workforce training for Native American and African American graduates.
– A $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the Central State University Workforce Training and Business Development Center that will serve underserved communities in Clark, Greene and Montgomery counties.
– A $599,982 grant for “Development of a Holistic Nano Photocatalytic Approach for Controlling Agriculturally-Induced Algal Blooms and Associated Cyanotoxins in Lake” was awarded by the USDA to build CSU research capacity for developing and expanding economically viable and environmentally compatible water treatment technology, through developing advanced oxidation process for microcystins destruction.
– A $597,461 grant for “Introducing Ergonomics Safety in Agriculture Production through Use of a Movement Studies Lab” project was awarded to expand exercise science research to include the ergonomics of farm safety, as well as develop an ergonomics curriculum.
– A grant worth $538,986 for the “Fastrack Farming: A Training Program for Socially Disadvantaged and Military Veteran Beginning Farmers during the COVID-19 Pandemic” was awarded to collaborate with community-based organizations in Ohio to train socially disadvantaged and military veteran beginning farmers to start and manage viable farms.
