A Commitment to People

The Land Grant University Mission in the United States

The Land Grant University system is the result of a set of laws passed by Congress in 1862, 1887, 1890, 1914, and 1994.

Origin of the Land Grant System

The Morrill Act of 1862 authorized a public university in every state and territory of the United States.

Instead of money, the federal government gave land to each state to support the program.

The Land Grant Mission

Morrill Act (1862):

“…teach …agriculture and the mechanical arts … to promote liberal and practical education of (ordinary people)….”

The Hatch Act (1887) provided for the establishment of farms at Land Grant universities where professors conduct research on agricultural problems faced by rural citizens.

Expanding the Land Grant Act A second Morrill Act (1890) created Land

Grant universities in southern states to serve freed slaves and their descendants.

In 1994, Congress created Tribal Colleges to educate Native Americans.

The Smith Lever Act (1914) established a Cooperative Extension Service affiliated with each Land Grant university. Federal, state, and county governments work together to provide public education services.

The county Extension office is a branch office of the Land Grant university in each state. Extension educators in each county are university staff or faculty and report to the main campus of the Land Grant university.

The mission of the Extension Service is to provide citizens access to research-based education and learning opportunities that are relevant to important community issues and which will contribute to the quality of life for all citizens.

Cooperative Extension Mission

University Commitment to Development

The Land Grant universities work closely with the regulatory and economic promotion arms of our state governments through both research and educational programs.

Extension Impacts Citizens’ Lives

Economic DevelopmentCommunity Development

Family and Youth ProgramsAgriculture & Natural Resource

ManagementEnvironmental Concerns

Food Safety/Health/NutritionAnimal Health

International Trade

The Land Grant educational system = Research + Teaching + Extension

Research spans everything from the most fundamental areas of inquiry to applied problem solving efforts. Extension and teaching deliver the results of research to university students and to citizens across our states.

Trends in the Land Grant System

1914 30% of US workers

engaged in agriculture

Federal partner provided 50% of resources

Focus: production agriculture

Individual visits by Extension Educators

Today Less than 1% of US

workers engaged in production agriculture

Federal partner provides 25% of resources

Focus: economic, community, & quality of life issues

Distance learning technologies &fee-for-service programs

Changing Focus Issues related to production agriculture and rural

life will continue to be major consumers of knowledge.

The challenges facing US society are increasingly complex. (Examples: environmental issues, economic policy concerns, food safety, family life quality, and serving new immigrant populations)

These new challenges require interdisciplinary teams for their solution.

Land Grant System Funding Trends

Example from Purdue University:

• 2003-04 School of Agriculture budget: $131,123,013

~25% comes from state general funds. [General funds come from two sources: (1) state appropriations (public funds that come from tax revenues) and (2) student tuition and fees.]

~75% comes from federal and state government grants, private sector contracts, and gifts.

Summary

The Land Grant University system: Is a unique, integrated teaching,

research, and extension system. Relies on funding from federal, state, and

local government and, increasingly, from the private sector.

Has been, and continues to be, the engine for economic development in the United States.