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College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

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MEDIA ADVISORY: OARDC to Dedicate First-in-Ohio Ag Safety Lab Sept. 16 in Wooster

September 14, 2011

WOOSTER, Ohio -- Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) will unveil this Friday, Sept. 16 a unique, highly secure bio-containment building for the study of infectious diseases of plants and animals that threaten Ohio’s $90-plus billion agricultural industry.

Reporters are invited to the dedication ceremony of the $22.2 million Plant and Animal Agrosecurity Research (PAAR) Facility -- the first lab in Ohio and one of only two nationally with capacity for both plant and large animal research at the Biosafety Level 3 and BSL-3 Agriculture levels.

A dedication ceremony is scheduled from 11 a.m.-noon at the corner of Williams Road and Ferguson Drive on the OARDC campus, located at 1680 Madison Ave., Wooster. Tours of the PAAR facility will be given between noon and 6 p.m. For security purposes, no backpacks, large purses or cameras are allowed inside PAAR; use of cellphone cameras is also prohibited inside the facility.

In addition to the dedication ceremony and tours, there will be other activities during the day commemorating the one-year anniversary of the tornado the ripped through the OARDC campus last Sept. 16. They include:

  • 9-10 a.m.: "September 16 Tornado: Aftermath and Renewal," Shisler Conference Center Ballroom. Remarks by Rep. Ron Amstutz, 3rd District, Ohio; Bobby Moser, dean of Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences; and Steve Slack, director of OARDC.
  • Noon-1 p.m.: Light lunch, across from the Facilities Services Building on Williams Road.
  • 1:30-2:30 p.m.: "Secrest Arboretum Renewal and Donor Recognition," John Streeter Garden Amphitheater, Secrest Arboretum. Remarks by Moser, Slack and Ken Cochran, program director, Secrest Arboretum.
  • 2:30 p.m.: Self-guided tours of Secrest Arboretum.

For more information, contact Mauricio Espinoza at 330-621-6541 or espinoza.15@osu.edu.

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Author(s): 
Mauricio Espinoza