US (TX): Amarillo College breaks ground on $2M greenhouse, lab
The college’s biology department celebrated the start of construction on a new $2 million greenhouse and lab facility with an informal groundbreaking. The construction will be accompanied by a horticulture certificate and, later, four new degree pathways in the STEM fields.
The federally grant-funded project is centered around increasing participation in the number of Hispanic and other students from low-income backgrounds earning degrees in STEM fields.
The U.S. Department of Education funded the project last year with a $4.9 million Hispanic-Serving Institutions grant after deciding AC — with a student body that is about 40 percent Hispanic and made up mostly of first-generation college students — was a good fit.
The 12,400-square-foot greenhouse will have four bays, two instructional labs and state-of-the-art equipment — including root imaging systems and gene sequencing technology.
The facility will also have equipment for growing plants in soil-less hydroponic, aquaponic and aeroponic environments.
Read more at Amarillo Globe-News (Robert Stein)