Educating future veterinary medicine leaders

As one of the flagship program elements of Northeast Community College's new agricultural campus – the Agriculture and Water Center for Excellence – the Veterinary Technology Building is focused on educating future professionals with a goal of addressing regional shortages in veterinary expertise. Flad worked with the college to plan and design this modern campus for programs in veterinary technology as well as agriculture, agronomy, water management, applied research, and agribusiness to equip students to excel in a variety of twenty-first century agricultural professions.

The new, 21,460-square-foot Veterinary Technology Building supports learning in the classroom, laboratory, and in clinical practice, providing students with fundamental skills in all aspects of veterinary technology that will prepare them to enter a variety of professional careers. A small animal surgery suite, clinical areas, and clinical pathology laboratory provide opportunities for learning in a safe, hands-on environment. Highlighted by a glassy main entry, the building's central public corridor connects to the ag campus's central quad and serves as a social hub for students and faculty.

Also constructed in the first phase of campus development, a 16,220-square-foot Large Animal Handling Building includes care and handling facilities supporting educational and outreach programs, high-bay space, and support facilities for the existing ag complex. Focused on care for cattle, horses, pigs, and sheep, the facility presents students with the opportunity to learn skills through simulation of professional field experiences.

Future phases of the campus build-out include a farm operations building, a precision and mechanized agriculture building, an agriculture classroom building and greenhouse, an innovation and demonstration center, and a livestock shelter and pens. These facilities are designed to replicate professional agricultural environments, allowing students to learn the highly technical aspects of current equipment and concepts.

Flad Architects (architectural design, programming, and planning), Wilkins Architecture Design Planning (architect of record)