More than 300 visitors from on and of campus attended the October 15 Plant Science Facilities Open House. 

The event celebrated the completion of a complex of new buildings, including state-of-the-art greenhouses, a plant-science teaching facility, the High Throughput Genomics Facility and Ralph M. Parsons Foundation Plant Transformation Facility, new laboratories that contain state-of-the-art equipment for DNA sequencing and genetically modifying plants, and the Plant Reproduction Biology building that houses the Seed Biotechnology Center.

Several speakers, including Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef and Dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Neal Van Alfen, welcomed the group and recognized the partners involved with the projects.  Dr. Kent Bradford, director of the Seed Biotechnology Center, acknowledged seed industry leaders who supported the early vision of completing such a facility.  Bill Van Skike, chairman of the California Seed Advisory Board, told the audience that "in these walls, new discoveries await, problems will be solved and the education of many students will be achieved."  The Chancellor also told the audience that "Over the years, the plant sciences have really thrived on campus. The new plant sciences facilities will help further that success.”

Following the ceremony, visitors toured the new buildings, learned about research projects and took home fruits, nuts and vegetables grown on campus.