A-State News
A-State Awarded $2.6 Million Project to Research and Improve Animal Health
Researchers at Arkansas State University have secured a $2.6 million project to advance agricultural research and improve animal health in the Mississippi River Delta, with $1.3 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. A-State is one of 36 universities nationwide funded through the research facilities program.
What the money builds
- New research space on the university farm for the College of Veterinary Medicine and the animal science curriculum in the College of Agriculture.
- New equipment at the Ecotoxicology Research Facility in the Beck College of Sciences and Mathematics, to analyse animal feed for organic contaminants, metals and nutrients.
The project began in September 2026 and is expected to be completed by 2030. Bringing diagnostic and analytical capability onto one campus speeds up research and saves the cost of sending samples elsewhere.
“With expanded facilities and access to new equipment, graduate and undergraduate students across the three colleges will have increased opportunities to engage in innovative research projects, gain hands-on experience, and contribute to discoveries that advance their respective fields.” — Dr. Jennifer Bouldin, Dean, Beck College of Sciences and Mathematics
Why it matters for students
It is a cross-disciplinary facility shared by veterinary medicine, agriculture and the sciences — and the university is explicit that undergraduates, not only graduate students, will gain hands-on research experience. It also builds on the opening of the state’s first public College of Veterinary Medicine in fall 2026.
Source: Arkansas State University news release, 30 October 2026 — astate.edu.
