For senior Hunter Nash, a $1 million gift from [Archer Daniels Midland Company](http://www.adm.com/en-US/Pages/default.aspx) will translate into much more than just a new center for agricultural development.
“We are going to use the space to be better prepared for the real world, outside of the classroom,” Nash said. “(MU) has the best hands-on agricultural program. I’m reassured it will continue to be because of ADM’s commitment.”
The gift from the Illinois company will fund the ADM Center for Agricultural Development, which will be located in the current Agricultural Engineering Building on campus, according to an MU [news release](http://munews.missouri.edu/news-releases/2012/1026-1-million-gift-will-support-mu-student-collaboration/). The space will be used for student-faculty interactions, enhanced student team learning and capstone design projects.
“The reason ADM picked us was when they looked at their employment, the largest cohort, the most super folks in the world, came from Missouri,” said Thomas Payne, vice chancellor and dean of the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources.
The gift reflects a deep commitment to developing agricultural leaders, said Michael D’Ambrose, senior vice president of human resources for ADM. As the global population continues to increase, the world will look toward agriculture and the industry’s leaders to create viable, sustainable solutions to pressing needs, such as an abundant food supply and advanced renewable fuels, he said.
“Many experts come right from this college,” D’Ambrose said. “The applicability of learning here differentiates MU from other colleges. … You take tremendous knowledge and apply it outside of the classroom.”
Agricultural employers often talk about the importance of experiential learning, biological engineering department chairman Jinglu Tan said.
This campus is short on available spaces for experiential learning, Tan said. The gift would make it possible to enhance student-faculty interactions, capstones and other projects such as Torq’N Tigers, a club that designs and builds quarter-scale tractors for national competitions.
“This (gift) will bring classroom learning to life,” Tan said. “I really expect the next big product, like soy chicken, will come out of this space.”
The center is expected to be open and ready for use by spring 2014, Chancellor Brady Deaton said.
“We will continue to build leadership and skills of the future,” Deaton said. “The (ADM) center will enhance the student experience and learning environment to enter the global workforce.”
CAFNR executive staff assistant Lisa Thompson said the new center adds to her pride in the college.
“It’s great to know that top companies want our students,” Thompson said. “The new center will give them a leg up on other students who don’t have the facilities that we have.”
