Kansas officials were nothing short of giddy last week when word came that K-State had made the short list of sites under consideration for a new federal biosecurity facility.
The excitement was for more than just the prospect of being the home of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. It was for the validation that decisions made nearly a decade ago were correct.
In the late 1990s, K-State made the decision to build on its strengths in plant and animal research and focus on becoming a national - if not global - leader in bioscience. It meant concentrating efforts and resources on those departments, assembling an accomplished staff and making the case for increased state and federal research dollars.
The site on the north side of the K-State campus was one of five announced by the Department of Homeland Security as a possibility for the new $451 million NBAF center.
Other sites still in the running are in Texas, North Carolina, Mississippi and Georgia. Originally, 18 sites in 12 states were considered by Homeland Security.
The federal facility is scheduled to start operating in 2013-2014. Officials estimate the federal facility would generate 1,500 construction jobs, up to 500 scientific jobs and $3.5 billion over 20 years.
K-State President Jon Wefald compared last week's announcement to making an NCAA Final Four. Landing the center would be a trophy of epic proportions for the university and state.
"I don't know that any other state has put together a unified team like we have here in Kansas," Wefald said.
State legislators and Gov. Kathleen Sebelius took that a step further in 2004.
The Kansas Economic Growth Act established a state policy of focusing efforts on recruiting and developing jobs in emerging technologies. The goal was to tap into this market, with projections that it could pay off as much as $500 million over 10 years. Central to that was building new research centers at K-State, the University of Kansas and Wichita State University.
"We saw the opportunity to create jobs in Kansas by recruiting bioscience firms to our state," Sebelius said. "So in 2004, we made a commitment to make Kansas a leader in bioscience research by building on our existing assets, and by creating the Bioscience Authority. The Authority allows us to focus our efforts and show bioscience firms and the federal government the advantages of choosing Kansas."
K-State will open its Biosecurity Research Institute this fall, which will be capable of handling many of the same tasks that would be conducted at the NBAF site. That means there would be a smooth transition from the current aging Plum Island, N.Y., site to Manhattan. And it gives federal officials the option of either expanding the BRI or building a new facility on adjacent ground.
House Speaker Melvin Neufeld said the announcement shows that others outside Kansas see the state's potential.
"Such a center would complement and expand the work of the Biosecurity Research Institute, a state-of-the art bio-research facility at Kansas State, as well as the numerous plant and animal companies already located in our state," said Neufeld, R-Ingalls.
Legislators passed three measures during the 2007 session to pave the way for landing the lab. One created an interagency working group to coordinate efforts, a second conveyed land at K-State to the federal government to build the facility, while a resolution pledged the Legislature's full support to do everything necessary to make the project a reality.
Everyone remains on board and focused for the next round of deliberations before the NBAF decision is final. Wefald and his staff are confident that if politics don't enter the process, K-State should win the competition.
But even if that doesn't happen, Wefald said he is confident that Kansas is now at that elite level in bioscience research.
The corridor stretching from Manhattan in the west to Columbia, Mo., in the east, has the highest concentration of animal health companies in the world. They account for nearly a third of all dollars spent on animal health in the world. In addition, Kansas is a global leader in production of wheat and beef. Locating the lab here would compliment the long-standing tradition of Kansas agriculture and put researchers within a country mile of those who depend on food safety and security for their livelihoods.
Kansas has the tools, the staff and desire to win the championship, and Wefald and others say other big time recruits, comparable to the NBAF project, will be forthcoming. He called it "the biggest thing to happen in Kansas since the Civil War."
That might be a stretch, but landing the NBAF lab could have the same lasting impact on Kansas, and its economy, for the next 100 years as the day Clyde Cessna and Walter Beech started putting together airframes in that little old cowtown called Wichita.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
