Kosciusko County is blessed with a strong agricultural community that helps drive the regional economy and produce food for many people around the world. Local agricultural leaders met at Grace College on June 1 for a time of prayer and planning for its up-and-coming Center for Agriculture. Photo provided by Grace College.

News Release

WINONA LAKE – Grace College invited 20 agricultural influencers in the county to its campus on June 1, for a time of prayer and planning for its up-and-coming Center for Agriculture.

The center will be launched as a result of funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. and will be modeled after and incubated by the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams at Grace College. The school is still seeking a director and program coordinator for the center.

“The agriculture and agricultural business degrees at Grace were created to help meet the needs of our state’s agricultural economy and to train the next generation of faith-filled industry leaders that will feed the world,” said Dr. John Teevan, interim president at Grace College.

“This center is going to take these programs to the next level, leveraging Grace’s location in northern Indiana with major ag producers in all directions to serve the community and provide a quality, faith-based agricultural education for our students. We are praying that God will provide a leader to oversee this exciting initiative.”

Grace College is located within a 30-mile radius of major ag corporations like Chore-Time Brock, Maple Leaf Farms, Louis Dreyfus Company, Miller Poultry, Silveus Insurance, Creighton Brothers, Tom Farms as well as entrepreneurial organizations like Clunette Elevator, Bishop Farms, Ransbottom Farms and Crestview Commodities. Many of these companies were present at the luncheon on June 1 and have come alongside Grace’s Center for Agriculture to help develop the next generation of ag leaders.

For the first few years, the Center for Agriculture will be incubated under the Lilly Center for Lakes & Streams, which is celebrating its fifteenth anniversary this year.

“The Lilly Center’s successful track record and solid infrastructure will help provide the necessary support for the Center for Agriculture as it gets on its feet,” said Dr. Nate Bosch, director of the Lilly Center. “Not to mention, this collaboration will only further our mission at the Lilly Center since much of the improvement needed in our lakes results from strong continued partnerships with the agricultural community that surrounds our lakes. It’s a synergistic relationship that will allow us to grow together.”

Grace is looking for a director for the Center for Agriculture who will be a dynamic and entrepreneurial leader who can comfortably serve as the central point of contact for all stakeholders as well as an innovator and educator. This person will develop and sustain long-term strategic and collaborative relationships. One key collaboration partner is the Kosciusko Economic Development Corporation. The director will also shape and lead educational curriculum and experiences in a way that attracts and retains students and prepares them to make exceptional contributions in agriculture.

Grace is also looking for a program coordinator for the Center for Agriculture who will be responsible for building and managing operations as it relates to the students, program quality, partnerships, donor relations, communications and financial functions of the center. Apply for the positions or learn more at www.grace.edu/about/grace-college/employment/current-openings.