Fall semester showcases new Jordan College points of pride

(August 22, 2016) – The Jordan College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology will open the fall semester showcasing a host of new faculty, students, events and resources to continue its role as a key educational resource for the nation’s leading agricultural area.

The $24 million Jordan Agricultural Research Center will officially open and offer students, staff and faculty three floors of dry and wet research laboratories, workspaces and meeting rooms to conduct advanced studies in agriculture, food and water.

The 30,000-square-foot building, located at Barstow and Woodrow Avenues, is named in memory of the Bud and Dee Jordan Family and hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 13. Other research lab sponsors include Bayer CropScience, Olam and The Wonderful Company, and private donors Harry Moordigian, Jr. and Earl and Beverly Knobloch.

The college welcomes nine new faculty in animal sciences and agricultural education (Dr. Katy Tarrant, Dr. Kyle Thompson, Dr. Avery Culbertson), agricultural business (Dr. Jiaochen Liang), child, family and consumer sciences (Dr. Rhett Billen, Dr. Andrea Roach), food science and nutrition (Dr. Shabnam Pooya, Dr. Sara Shinn) and plant science (Dr. Gurreet Brar).

The Jordan College also expects to welcome a similar number of students as last year’s record total of 2,516 – nearly double its enrollment from 10 years before (1,295, 2005).

Several fall events will connect the university with industry and community in new ways, including an industry-sponsored olive milling seminar that taught growers from around the state new milling techniques on August 18-19.

The Fresno State Winery will host the first-annual Grape Stomping Good Times on Saturday, Aug. 27 with proceeds benefiting the San Joaquin River Parkway and Conservation Trust.

Internationally-renowned livestock behaviorist and innovator Dr. Temple Grandin will speak at a free event about animal welfare and consumer concerns at 10:45 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 9 at the Satellite Student Union.

The Fresno State Gibson Farm Market will also its host its first Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 22 to promote products raised, designed, and processed by students and staff from the University Agricultural Laboratory’s 22 units.

A group of eight Portuguese agricultural students and two faculty from the University of the Azores in Terceira will visit Fresno State and the Central Valley on Sept. 4 to 17 as part of an academic exchange program. The group will visit the campus dairy, creamery and other University Agricultural Laboratory units; tour area farms and processing centers; and participate in area Portuguese cultural events and dinners.

In conjunction with the Azores education exchange, Dr. Vasco Rato from the Luso American Development Foundation (FLAD) will lecture to an agricultural business class on Thursday, Sept. 29. The organization has sponsored a $49,000 grant to facilitate the academic exchange agreement with the University of the Azores.