By ANN ALLEN
Indiana Correspondent

AKRON, Ind. — Jay Akridge, dean of Purdue’s College of Agriculture, took the school’s story on the road on Dec. 8, making stops at New Holland and Dean Foods in Rochester before addressing the Kiwanis Club at noon.

Accompanied by Kyle Bymaster, director of Development, and extension educator Mark Kepler, Akridge paid an afternoon visit to Pike Lumber Co.’s Akron hardwood manufacturing operation.

With sawmills in Akron and Carbon, Ind., and a third one nearing completion in Milan, the company is one of Indiana’s largest lumber operations and a firm believer that trees not only are a renewable energy source, but a crop that needs careful tending and harvesting.

Akridge stressed that as a land grant college, Purdue is committed to preparing students who make a difference in the world, conducting purposeful research and transforming Hoosier lives through its Cooperative Extension Service. He said 2,675 students are enrolled in the college, with women counting for slightly more than half that number.

He noted that Purdue isn’t just about Indiana. “Agriculture is a global industry,” he said, adding that the university has research work being conducted around the world.