NBAF Fit For Kansas

KANSAS, US - Much has been written about the advantages and disadvantages of locating the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility, or NBAF, on the mainland of the United States.
calendar icon 15 January 2009
clock icon 3 minute read

One point of agreement by all interested parties is that the United States does need a new, advanced facility to replace the aging Plum Island Animal Disease Center in New York. What have not been central to most public discussions are the reasons why a college town like Manhattan, Kan., and a university like Kansas State University create an ideal setting for the NBAF.

As a result of federal support, K-State has a long and rich history for addressing the needs of agriculture. Kansas believes it has a responsibility to hold true to that heritage. Originally named Kansas State Agricultural College, K-State is one of the first -- if not the first -- land-grant institutions created under the Morrill Act of 1862. Land-grant universities are institutions of higher education that have been designated by each state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890. These acts support the liberal and practical education of working classes of people with an express emphasis on agriculture, military tactics, the mechanical arts and home economics.

The mission of the land-grant universities was expanded by the Hatch Acts of 1887, which provided federal funds to states to establish a series of agricultural experiment stations under the direction of each state's land-grant college.

Top-notch research faculty members are attracted to universities where good science, modern facilities and a supportive environment exist. K-State has been known as a great place to work for nearly 150 years and, particularly in the past decade, has become known as one of the leading institutions in the country where scientists can pursue research in food safety, infectious diseases, animal health and productivity, and public health.

As a result of focusing on these important areas of research, K-State is already attracting outstanding faculty members to campus. Since 1999, the number of scientists working in these areas has increased from about 125 to more than 150.

One of the university's newest faculty members is Juergen Richt, a specialist in emerging viral diseases, who moved to K-State from his former position as lead scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Animal Disease Center and has been named as a Regents Distinguished Professor by the Kansas Board of Regents, a Kansas Eminent Scholar in Animal Health by the Kansas Bioscience Authority, and lead investigator of the animal facility for K-State's Biosecurity Research Institute, or BRI, in Pat Roberts Hall.

Although they would not be traditional faculty members, NBAF researchers in Manhattan -- coupled with the animal health and comparative medicine work forces associated with the Kansas City Animal Health Corridor, the medical schools of Kansas City and the K-State Olathe Innovation Campus -- will create a critical mass of scientists that will catapult K-State to the world's hub of animal health and food safety investigators. Such outstanding researchers and teachers will make K-State a better academic institution and Manhattan a better community. Because prospective faculty members want to be part of a progressive program, future faculty recruitment will be enhanced.

Further Reading

- For more information read NBAF: Securing a Threat, or Threatening a Security? by clicking here.

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