Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared in AlumnInsider, the Penn State Alumni Association's monthly member e-newsletter.
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — More than 150 years ago, Penn State’s first dairy barn housed cows and swine, and even a creamery. Since then, the Department of Dairy and Animal Science has undergone plenty of changes while continuing to play a vital role at the University.
There are still modern-day reminders of the department’s beginning. A watering trough that was originally located in the open-court area of the old dairy barn from 1913 to 1952 now sits on the University Park campus, near the intersection of Curtin and Shortlidge roads.
In between, a lot has happened to shape the department as it has evolved, and recently, on July 1, 2012, the Department of Dairy and Animal Science and the Department of Poultry Science merged to form the Department of Animal Science. While plenty has changed, former chairman and department head Donald Ace said the impact the department and its students have made continues to be far-reaching.
“Penn State says we have more alumni spread over the world—more than any other institution—the same can be said about graduates from the Department of Dairy and Animal Science,” Ace said. “In most phases of agriculture, you will find our graduates prevailing.”
Ace, a former faculty member who was named chairman of the extension section in 1974, was elevated to department head in 1980 and retired four years later. In other words, he’s seen a lot as generations of Penn Staters have worked their way through the department and earned degrees, using opportunities made available through animal and dairy research.
Penn State was a pioneer in this area, with faculty members at University Park becoming leaders in the development, design and implementation of a variety of research methods, including artificial breeding, raising calves and young stock, forage testing programs, sire analysis, food flavoring and more.
These programs benefit farmers not only in Pennsylvania, but also across the country, Ace said, adding, “Our students have been an integral part of the success.”
As campus extended over the years, land was re-allocated, with agricultural resources re-located and multiple departments coming together. Various farms housed livestock in the early 1900s, with the Stock Judging Pavilion (now the Pavilion Theatre) being built in 1915. The dairy department and creamery were moved to Borland Lab when that building was finished in 1932. And most recently, the department has been located on the third floor in both the Henning Building and the inter-connected Agricultural Science and Industries Building.