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Monsanto Company pledges $1 million to renovate offices and programs serving students in agriculture and life sciences at Iowa State University

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Ames, Iowa
August 26, 2008

The Monsanto Company has pledged $1 million to enhance the offices and programs serving students in agriculture and life sciences at Iowa State University.

The company's commitment will support the planned renovation of Curtiss Hall, the building housing the main offices of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

"Agriculture is an industry of constant innovation and dynamic change that requires world-class education and facilities to attract tomorrow's leaders today," said Ted Crosbie, Monsanto's vice president for global plant breeding. "We're pleased to be a longtime partner with Iowa State University in helping to shape the industry's future leaders who will help to lead our industry in meeting the ever-expanding demands for food, feed and increasingly fuel."

"We are grateful for Monsanto's commitment to provide the best educational setting possible for our current and prospective students," said Wendy Wintersteen, Iowa State University's Endowed Dean of Agriculture and Life Sciences. "Monsanto shares our vision of creating an environment that reflects the vitality of agriculture and life sciences for Iowa and the world, and that conveys the college as an exciting place to study, work and forge tomorrow's leaders."

The gift will enhance and consolidate space devoted to student programs into a ground-floor wing of the building. The programs include student services, career services, study-abroad, entrepreneurship and marketing and recruitment. In honor of Monsanto's generosity, Iowa State plans to name the student services wing of the building for the company.

Curtiss Hall will turn a hundred years old in 2009. Named for Charles Curtiss, dean of the college from 1902 to 1932, the building is one of the most familiar and distinctive landmarks on Iowa State's central campus. Each semester, thousands of students stream into Curtiss Hall to attend classes in the 400-seat auditorium and smaller classrooms. Besides serving the administrative needs for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, it also houses the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station and Extension to Agriculture and Natural Resources, plus several other departments, centers and programs.

The cost of the Curtiss Hall renovation currently is estimated at $11.5 million, which will be provided through private fundraising and university resources. Although a timeline for the project has not yet been determined, initial work could begin in 2009 or 2010.

The Monsanto Company gift is part of Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose, the university's $800 million fundraising effort that was publicly launched last October.

Monsanto Company is a leading global provider of technology-based solutions and agricultural products that improve farm productivity and food quality.

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