The new Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) hub is one of two in the nation. With a work force of 150, it’s the largest government facility located at N.C. State’s 1,000-acre Centennial Campus.

Federal, state and university officials — including APHIS Administrator Dr. Craig Reed and N.C. State Chancellor Marye Anne Fox — attended and spoke at the opening ceremony, held on the third floor of the Venture II building.

In 1998, APHIS chose Raleigh and Fort Collins, Colo., to host its regional hubs, out of 22 cities under consideration. APHIS officials said N.C. State’s top agriculture and veterinary schools were crucial in the final decision, as was the university’s close relationship with the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

“With the help of North Carolina State University, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has completed its first steps toward regionalization,” said Reed. “We feel that NCSU’s Centennial Campus is the ideal place for our new Eastern Regional Hub.”

University officials said the location of the facility at Centennial Campus underscores the university’s reputation as one of the nation’s premier agricultural research institutions. N.C. State is home to the largest agricultural academic, research and extension program east of the Mississippi River. The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is ranked as one of the five best agriculture schools in the nation.

“The College is pleased to have the APHIS eastern hub here on our campus,” said Dean James Oblinger. “It will give federal policymakers the opportunity to work directly with our College’s outstanding researchers, our statewide Cooperative Extension network and our diverse range of agricultural and animal field research laboratories and research stations.”

The two APHIS regional hubs were created by the consolidation of 13 regional offices, a move aimed at cutting agency costs while locating policymakers near respected agricultural scientists. The agency’s offices that have relocated on Centennial Campus are Animal Care, Investigative and Enforcement Services, Plant Protection and Quarantine, Veterinary Services and Wildlife Services.

The offices work with industry, state governments and other federal agencies while overseeing a wide network of APHIS program personnel who work at the state and field levels throughout the eastern United States.

The hub is actually the second APHIS facility to locate at N.C. State. The Center for Plant Health Science and Technology, in the Partners I building, moved to Centennial Campus in 1998. That center, which employs about 40 workers, provides scientific and technical support for the protection of American plant resources and agriculture trade. The opening of that office at Centennial Campus paved the way for the location of the APHIS regional hub at N.C. State.