Colorado State University broke ground on the Temple Grandin Equine Center this morning, marking a historic day for the College of Agricultural Sciences.

The TGEC, located off Overland Trail near the B.W. Pickett Equine Center, will house the University’s undergraduate classes for equine science, equine-assisted activities and therapies programming and animal therapy research, according to a CSU public relations media advisory. 

“Horses kind of saved me; … horses were one of the few places I was not bullied,” said Temple Grandin, a CSU professor of animal science whom the center was named after, at the groundbreaking.

Adam Daurio, director of administration for the TGEC, said the center is not just a facility, but an initiative to help advance and sustain the animal therapy industry through evidence-based practices. 

“It is for the betterment of horses and humans alike,” Daurio said at the groundbreaking. 

According to the TGEC website, the center is meant to be a place for all, where individuals with developmental, physical and emotional challenges can heal, students can learn, therapists can practice and scientists can research. 

This building is separate from the Temple Grandin Equine Center at Spur, CSU’s campus at the National Western Center in Denver. That building project will break ground in April, according to the media advisory.

“We never really care as much about the facility as we do about having the facility that allows us to do the tremendous work that we’re going to be able to do,” said CSU President Joyce McConnell at the groundbreaking. “When you scratch all of the pomp and circumstance away, everyone is committed to a better world and transforming lives.”

Serena Bettis can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @serenaroseb.