PPWS Faculty Relocate to Latham Hall

Latham Hall

In June 2006, six PPWS faculty members relocated their laboratories to the newly constructed Latham Hall. Construction funding was provided by the Virginia Higher Education Bond referendum passed by voters in 2002. In support of agricultural research, William and Elizabeth Latham established a $5 million endowment to support the acquisition of the latest research equipment and to train undergraduate and graduate students. Latham Hall is an 85,000-square-foot facility designed for advanced plant research. The building was outfitted with $3.5 million of new research equipment. There are also many controlled-environment plant growth chambers, which include eight twostory- high growth chambers designed for growing trees. The building also houses faculty members from Biochemistry, Biology, Biological Systems Engineering, Entomology, Forestry, Horticulture, and Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, who together provide a rich cross-disciplinary research environment. Latham Hall is also the seat of the new interdepartmental Molecular Plant Sciences graduate program.