Preparations for the Agriculture Department’s 100th anniversary in 2011 have already begun. The year will be marked by special events, which are detailed online at www.Agriculture.IllinoisState.edu. Three events are slated for next month.

Alumni are invited to a free cookout from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Horticulture Center on July 22. Contact Kathy Scott at kjscot2@IllinoisState.edu or call (309) 438-5655 if you plan to attend.

Department friends and alumni are invited to Ag Night at the Normal Cornbelters on July 22. The 7 p.m. baseball game costs $11 per person, with $3 of each ticket sale donated to the Horticulture Center. Contact Rick Whitacre at rwhitacr@IllinoisState.edu or call (309) 438-2489.

The Harvey Woods Golf Classic will begin at 8 a.m. on July 23. Cost is $60 per person and includes green fees and cart, lunch, and a donation to the Harvey S. Woods Scholarship Fund. Contact Whitacre by July 9 at mailto:rwhitacr@IllinoisState.edu or call (309) 438-2489. Registration forms are available online at http://agriculture.illinoisstate.edu.

The anniversary year will also include an effort to raise $400,000 through the “100 x 100 Centennial Celebration.” The goal is to obtain $100,000 in support for each of four areas: the Horticulture Center, student scholarships, the Illinois State University Farm at Lexington, and special projects such as a computer laboratory and student travel.

“I have great hope we’ll be successful. I have a lot of faith in ag alums,” College of Applied Science and Technology Dean Jeff Wood said. He noted there are more than 5,000 in the Agriculture Alumni Association, which formed in 1979 as the first departmental alumni association on campus.

To learn more about the “100 x 100 Centennial Celebration,” contact Development Director Dorothy Witte at (309) 438-3134 or by e-mail at dmwitte@ilstu.edu. Donations may be made online by going to www.Advancement.ilstu.edu/support.