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K-State Today

April 18, 2013

K-State to have ribbon cutting for new horticulture building near Wichita

Submitted by Mary Lou Peter

Kansas State University will have a ribbon cutting at 10 a.m. on April 29 to celebrate the opening of its new building at the John C. Pair Horticulture Center in Haysville. The public is invited to attend.

The center is at 1901 E. 95th St. South in Haysville, just south of Wichita.

The new 3,000-square-foot metal building will serve as a public space and includes reception and classroom space as well as offices, said Jason Griffin, head of the center and the state horticulture leader with K-State Research and Extension. The building also has a 1,300-square-foot covered patio for outdoor events.

The center, which is part of K-State’s horticulture, forestry and recreation resources department, is located on 120 acres and home to research conducted primarily on vegetable and woody ornamental crops, including shade, ornamental and flowering trees, as well as turfgrass. The data obtained from the research are made available to the public through K-State Research and Extension publications and at industry field days and other public events.

"This new structure will be home base for all of our field days and meetings," said Griffin, adding that the 40-year-old building previously used lacked the space and functionality that the new building offers. 

"This new building has been much anticipated and long overdue," said Ernie Minton, K-State Research and Extension associate director of research and technology transfer. "It will significantly improve our ability to fulfill both research and extension missions at the Pair center."

The center is named for John C. Pair who was the woody ornamental and turfgrass scientist at the center from 1970 until his death in 1998. His career was devoted to the evaluation and improvement of woody ornamental plants and turfgrasses for the southern Great Plains.

More information about the John C. Pair Horticulture Center is available online or by calling 316-788-0492.