Assiniboine Community College’s agriculture school has a new look.
On Sept. 26, the college unveiled the new brand for its Russ Edwards School of Agriculture and Environment.
ACC renamed the school last fall in honour of Edwards, the founder of WGI Westman Group. Companies under that corporate umbrella include grain handling and storage equipment firm Meridian Manufacturing and water management equipment firm Armtec. Two other, less ag-related arms, Behlen and Westman Steel, are based in Brandon, which is also home to ACC.
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“Some of the early seeds of WGI Westman Group’s success were planted right here in this community,” Edwards said at an event announcing the name change last October.
The Manitoba-born entrepreneur had committed $4 million to the college’s incoming Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.
“Russ Edwards is an icon when it comes to ag-related industries in Manitoba and Canada,” said school dean Tim Hore on Sept. 26. “We’re very similar in the values that we share with Russ. Having his name connected to the school is an honour and will have a long-lasting impact as our college continues to advance its vision for leadership in agricultural education.”
ACC is in the midst of expanding its student capacity, course offerings and facilities.
The promised Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture will be home to existing agribusiness, GIS, horticulture, land and water management, communications and engineering technology programs, as well as mechatronics, chemical technology and food science.
In total, ACC expects to increase its agriculture-related student spaces to 800 from about 300.
The college has said the expansion is meant to better tailor education for the needs of an increasingly technical agribusiness workplace and open the door to more applied research.
The budget for the centre, which has been increased several times, is currently reported at almost $120 million, with $20 million to come from private fundraising.
New logo
The college has said the new brand logo relates to Edwards’ “love of the land.”
“The agriculture lifecycle is represented in the logo through visuals connected to water, plants and harvest. The open Prairie skies and bodies of water are symbolized by a deep blue that represents Assiniboine’s environmental programming and vision, and is complemented by an earthy colour and seed and swath imagery to represent crop and plant growth,” read a Sept. 26 statement from ACC.
“We looked at the project very closely, as to what the plans and intent were, and what the theme of the college was going to be,” Edwards said during the recent ceremony unveiling the brand.
“The Russ Edwards School of Agriculture and Environment is the legacy that my wife, myself and my family wish to leave for Western Canada.
“We believe that the proper education students will receive in this school will be tremendously important going forward. Brandon is an agricultural centre of the West and this school is right in the heart of Canada.”
