Groundbreaking at college to expand agriculture program

OGLESBY, Ill. — Agricultural students at Illinois Valley Community College will have the opportunity to study in the new Dr. Alfred E. Wisgoski Agricultural Education Center.

“This state-of-the-art facility will feature an innovation lab and it will have the best views surrounded by fields of crops,” said Tracy Morris, president of IVCC during a groundbreaking event for the new facility.

The $7.6 million, 10,250-square-foot center, will be located just south of the main campus and will include conference rooms, lounge areas and flexible classroom space, as well as an area for a future greenhouse.

Wisgoski served as president of the college from 1974 to 1996, the longest tenure in the history of IVCC.

Funding for the new facility has come from several sources, including a $3.5 million U.S. Department of Economic Development Administration grant and a $240,000 Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity grant.

In addition, the Wisgoski family donated $1 million toward the development of the center.

“This is my 10th year of teaching here at IVCC, and when I started, the goal was to revitalize the IVCC ag program,” said Willard Mott, agricultural instructor and program co-coordinator at IVCC. “We are committed to the future of agriculture.”

The agriculture program at the college, Mott said, continues to grow.

“This is so exciting because we are planting the seeds of progress to construct a home for ag students,” he said. “Future ag careers will come alive to students by the way we teach our courses.”

The new center, located near the 153-acre test plots at the college, is scheduled to be completed in 2027.

“We are going to make this center inviting, welcoming, engaging and uplifting by using natural materials to provide open views of the agricultural surroundings,” said Dominick Demonica, project architect.