Pictured from the left are Senior Wyatt Morrow, Ohio Dept. of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge, former WC Trustee Bill Peelle, State Sen. Shane Wilkin, Trustee Daniel Buckley, WC Project Manager Randy Gerber, Board of Trustees Chair Brent Bill, and President Corey Cockerill.
The future of Wilmington College’s heralded agriculture program was on full display Wednesday (Dec. 17) when officials led a tour of the former BrightFarms greenhouse for State Sen. Shane Wilkin (R-District 17) and Brian Baldridge, director of the Ohio Department of Agriculture.
The College purchased the shuttered, 120,000 square foot hydroponic facility earlier this fall as the future site of the Wilmington College AgriScience Complex, a massive space that is being transformed into classrooms and laboratories with an upgraded greenhouse infrastructure to support advanced agricultural research, sustainability initiatives and workforce training. It will become a state-of-the-art center for teaching and practicing the science of controlled environment agriculture.
The College is exploring a public/private partnership with Southern State Community College, which already features an articulation agreement in which agri-business majors can transfer seamlessly, with all credits accepted, to WC upon earning their associate’s degree. Southern State President Dr. Nicole Roades accompanied WC President Corey Cockerill on the informational excursion.
Cockerill led the tour of the facility located fewer than three miles from the main campus. Indeed, the former greenhouse is set on 20 acres adjacent to the College’s 267-acre Academic Farm, a learning laboratory offering students hands-on experiences. Cockerill, along with agriculture faculty members and students, shared information about WC’s largest academic area with more than 300 students studying one of six agricultural concentrations. Once enrolled, those students stay at the College, which boasts a 90 percent retention rate of ag students. Last spring, an impressive 95 percent of graduation candidates in agriculture, in their final semester, had already secured employment in the industry or had been accepted at graduate schools.
The College expects areas of the AgriScience Complex to be available for student learning as soon as the fall of 2026. Complementing what will become a fully renovated facility will be the construction of a 120’ by 240’ livestock and equine arena.
“This comprehensive facility checks the boxes for the growth of our agriculture program,” Cockerill said, adding it is a “game-changer,” representing one of the boldest moves in the nearly 80-year history of WC’s agriculture program. “The facility will serve as a hub for hands-on learning, applied research and community engagement,” she said. “A place where students train across livestock production, pre-veterinary science, meat science, agribusiness and food systems, while also advancing solutions in sustainability and food security.”
Pictured at the tour of the Wilmington College AgriScience Complex are, from the left, Brent Bill, chair of the Board of Trustees, State Senator Shane Wilkin. Ohio Department of Agriculture Director Brian Baldridge, Agriculture Professor Chad McKay, Tracey Intihar with the Dept. of Agriculture, Southern State Community College President Nicole Roades, President Corey Cockerill, Ohio Dept. of Agriculture Legal Director Todd Thatcher, WC Senior Ruth Beery, WC Senior Wyatt Morrow, Former WC Trustee Bill Peelle and Trustee Daniel Buckley.