New North GA Tech School of Agriculture Named After Tommy Irvin

North Georgia Technical School in Clarkesville will soon be home to a new School of Agricultural named in honor of former State Agricultural Commissioner Tommy Irvin.

Tuesday, dozens of students, faculty and well-wishers joined the Irvin family to dedicate ground on campus as the future home of the Tommy & Bernice Irvin School of Agriculture.

The school will be built near the new green houses behind the gymnasium.

North Georgia Tech President Dr. Mark Ivester told recounted the 100-year old history of the school, noting its initial mission was to educate young people primarily in the field of agriculture.

Ivester said the school moved away from that primary mission, but is now returning to its roots.

“Now fast-forward 105 years to October 17, 2017. North Georgia Technical College with the financial assistance with the Irvin family will re-establish our roots in the agriculture arena,” Ivester said. “As we move into the future this will provide hands-on training and some work experience as we not only build on this property but have students who maintain those spaces.”

Speaking on behalf of the Irvin family, James Irvin said he and his late father had been working on the plans for the School of Agriculture in the months before his father died.

Irvin says his father’s legacy will live on at North Georgia Tech.

“I discussed this with Daddy and he was excited about it and we began to plan the program,” he said. “Little did I know that he would be suddenly taken away from us. And as he breathed his last breath on the night of September 14th, the board met earlier that day and decided to move forward with the Tommy and Bernice Irvin School of Agriculture.”

Irvin then encouraged everyone to get involved and support the new school plans.

“His work here on earth was done and his legacy and the Agriculture Department he headed up for some 40 years now has a basis here in North Georgia that I think will rival any in the State if we all get behind this effort and make it grow. That’s what we want to do. We want to be a part of it.”

The Irvin Foundation donated $500,000 to help get the Agriculture School started.

North Georgia Tech Horticulture Instructor Craig Thurmond said the new School of Agriculture will have three areas of concentration, including Agri Business, General Agriculture, and Sustainable Urban Food Production.

“Our goal is to begin offering the Sustainable Urban Food Production program this summer, summer semester 2018 and then have the General Agriculture first stage up and running by fall of 2018. So this time next year we should ag students on campus,” Thurmond explained.

The new Tommy & Bernice Irvin School of Agriculture will be built near the new green houses behind the gymnasium on the Clarkesville campus.