Huntington University is becoming a bigger name in agricultural education.
Just over a decade ago, the university didn’t even have an agriculture program. That changed after Huntington students developed the award-winning “Hoosier Grown” campaign promoting Indiana agriculture.
Today, Huntington offers four-year degrees in agribusiness, agricultural education, animal science, and crop science and agronomy, along with programs connected to animal health and veterinary technology.
According to Dr. Robert Pepper President of Huntington University, “There are very few faith based universities that offer agriculture. And so for me, that was an intriguing piece. Running a university in this day is extremely competitive, and we’re all looking for unique programs and opportunities. So our AG program is one of our larger majors. Every year we’ll bring in between 40 and 50 new students that are coming to study in one of the programs we offer in ag and ag science.”
Students get hands-on experience through farms, production facilities, internships and more than 100 acres of tillable land. The university says agriculture is an expanding field, and it plans to continue growing its presence in the industry.
Pepper says, “The future of agriculture for us isn’t really going to be more and better technology. That’s really important, but I think it’ll be shaped by people of character. We oftentimes talk about faith, family and farming here, and we want to grow, but we want to keep this community feeling that’s really important for our students. Then wise use of technology, whether it’s, AI or food as health or, drone technology and all these different things. We want to keep learning and being a place where people come to learn and continue to grow.”
From a school with no agriculture program to one of Indiana’s few universities offering four-year agriculture degrees, Huntington is positioning itself to play a growing role in preparing the next generation of Hoosier agriculture professionals.
