A recent pledge of $1.5 million will go toward the construction of a state-of-the-art agriculture pavilion for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The donation was made by Marvin and Janice Walter of Ames, according to a news release.

The new facility will be completed at a cost of $7 million and will serve as a location for agriculture students to take animal ecology classes. The pavilion will also include a 125-foot-by-250-foot arena, capable of holding 1,000 spectators, that could potentially host animal shows and competitions.

The new pavilion will be built south of campus close to where the department of animal science currently uses the land for the equine program.

Marvin Walter is an ISU alumnus, and both he and Janice have been longtime contributors to Iowa State.