Land Grant Colleges Act of 1862

Land Grant Colleges (Act of 1862)

October 1, 2022

Penn State is a Land Grant College

Land Grant Colleges are the authority for resolving environmental problems in the region they are located. As the go to resource for agricultural, invasive insect or plants, and tree or plant disease, these colleges have extensive knowledge developed over years of hard work stewarding the environment, developing hybridized cultivars to gain disease resistance and better weather climate change, or solving problems through research and development of best practices for natural resource sustainability and the remediation of the numerous problematic issues in and around agricultural and environmental sciences. 

Under Lincoln's Presidency, Senator Morrill of Vermont proposed a bill which created a structure of Agriculture based colleges. Each state has at least one of these colleges. He first presented the idea while serving in the House of Representatives. The premise was to set aside federal lands to create colleges to “benefit the agricultural and mechanical arts.” 

The Morrill Land-Grant Acts of 1862

The Morrill Land-Grant Acts of 1862 are United States statues that used federal land to create these truly beneficial agricultural resources that have helped everything from food production yields to the survival of whole habitats helping preserve the land from drought, disease, or lack of sustainable practices usually encouraged through regulation. 


Note: 

Below are links to each Land Grant College. Some have additional links to their "Extension" Resources to highlight that can help Steward your communities' Natural Habitats. Land Grant Colleges have a mission, to “benefit the agricultural and mechanical arts.” in some colleges this mission allow Extension Classes and resources that help anything from access to Asking an Expert for help with an ecological problem to identifying invasive insects and plants with advice on how to manage that problem. These resources are mutually beneficial. When a land owner, nonprofit, or concerned citizen expresses an interest in helping solve environmental problems this community will support them sharing their knowledge and resources inevitably helping our Natural Habitats sustain to constant barrage of invasive plants and insects, plant diseases, and pollution. When we work together to solve problems in our communities it provides others with a sense of competency in managing our Forests, Creeks, Streams, Rivers, lakes, helping our wildlife and Aquatic life not only survive but thrive. When you see a problem in your local Forest or Waterway or on you private property reach out to your local College Extension community, do not hesitate, they will be happy to help you with your problem.     

Hatch Act 1887

The hatch act enabled the land grant college structure to also be used as technological hubs. Texas A&M stood for Agricultural and Mechanical. The M was enabled by the Hatch Act. It also establish a network of agricultural experiment stations. 

Smith-Lever Act of 1914 - adds public outreach to land grant structure

The Smith Lever act prompted land grant colleges to provide the research based science developed by the institutions to the public. Through stewardship educational programs the land grant college structure teaches citizen scientists through their county based programs usually developed around a particular problems in your county/community.

When you hear the term "Extension", that is the part of the land grant college prompted by the Smith Lever Act. 

Land Grant Colleges by state with each state's free public services they provide

Land Grant Colleges

ALABAMA

Alabama  A&M University, Normal

Auburn University, Auburn

Tuskegee University, Tuskegee

ALASKA

Ilisagvik College, Barrow

University of Alaska, Fairbanks

AMERICAN SAMOA

American Samoa Community College, Pago Pago

ARIZONA

Diné College, Tsaile

University of Arizona, Tuscon

Tohono O'odham Community College, Sells

ARKANSAS

University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff

CALIFORNIA

D-Q University, (Davis vicinity)

University of California System-Oakland as Headquarters, Oakland

COLORADO

Colorado State University, Fort Collins

CONNECTICUT

University of Connecticut, Storrs

DELAWARE

Delaware State University, Dover

University of Delaware, Newark

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

University of the District of Columbia, Washington

FLORIDA

Florida A&M University, Tallahassee

University of Florida, Gainesville

GEORGIA

Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley

University of Georgia, Athens

GUAM

University of Guam, Mangilao

HAWAII

University of Hawaii, Honolulu

IDAHO

University of Idaho, Moscow

ILLINOIS

University of Illinois, Urbana

INDIANA

Purdue University, West Lafayette

IOWA

Iowa State University, Ames

KANSAS

Haskell Indian Nations University, Lawrence

Kansas State University, Manhattan

KENTUCKY

Kentucky State University, Frankfort

University of Kentucky, Lexington

LOUISIANA

Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge

MAINE

University of Maine, Orono

MARYLAND

University of Maryland, College Park

University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne

MASSACHUSETTS

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

University of Massachusetts, Amherst

MICHIGAN

Bay Mills Community College, Brimely

Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Community College, Baraga

Michigan State University, East Lansing

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College, Mount Pleasant

MICRONESIA

College of Micronesia, Kolonia, Pohnpei

MINNESOTA

Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College, Cloquet

Leech Lake Tribal College, Cass Lake

Red Lake Nation College, Minnesota

Red Lake Nation College, Red Lake

Mission: 

To provide excellent higher education that is grounded in the Ojibwe language and culture of the Red Lake Nation.

University of Minnesota, St. Paul

White Earth Tribal and Community College, Mahnomen

MISSISSIPPI

Alcorn State University, Lorman

Mississippi State University, Starkville

MISSOURI

Lincoln University, Jefferson City

University of Missouri, Columbia

MONTANA

Blackfeet Community College, Browning

Chief Dull Knife College, Lame Deer

Aaniiih Nakoda College, Harlem

Fort Peck Community College, Poplar

Little Big Horn College, Crow Agency

Montana State University, Bozeman

Salish Kootenai College, Pablo

Stone Child College, Box Elder

NEBRASKA

Little Priest Tribal College, Winnebago

Nebraska Indian Community College, Winnebago

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

NEVADA

University of Nevada, Reno

NEW HAMPSHIRE

University of New Hampshire, Durham

NEW JERSEY

Rutgers University, New Brunswick

NEW MEXICO

Navajo Technical University, Crownpoint

Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development, Santa Fe

New Mexico State University, Las Cruces

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute, Albuquerque

NEW YORK

Cornell University, Ithaca - The College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Cornell

Cornell University, Ithaca

NORTH CAROLINA

North Carolina A&T State University, Greensboro

North Carolina State University, Raleigh

NORTH DAKOTA

Cankdeska Cikana Community College, Fort Totten

Nueta Hidatsu Sahnish College, New Town

North Dakota State University, Fargo

Sitting Bull College, Fort Yates

Turtle Mountain Community College, Belcourt

United Tribes Technical College, Bismarck

NORTHERN MARIANAS

Northern Marianas College, Saipan

OHIO

Central State University, Wilberforce

Ohio State University, Columbus

OKLAHOMA

College of the Muscogee Nation, Okmulgee

Langston University, Langston

Oklahoma State University, Stillwater

OREGON

Oregon State University, Corvallis

PENNSYLVANIA

Pennsylvania State University, University Park


How Penn State Extension is satisfying its land grant mission

Penn State Extension Services

PUERTO RICO

University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez

RHODE ISLAND

University of Rhode Island, Kingston

SOUTH CAROLINA

Clemson University, Clemson

South Carolina State University, Orangeburg

SOUTH DAKOTA

Oglala Lakota College, Kyle

Sinte Gleska University, Rosebud

Sisseton Wahpeton Community College, Sisseton

South Dakota State University, Brookings

TENNESSEE

Tennessee State University, Nashville

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

TEXAS

Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View

Texas A&M University, College Station  

UTAH

Utah State University, Logan

VERMONT

University of Vermont, Burlington

UVM Vermont Community Forestry Resources  

VIRGIN ISLANDS

University of the Virgin Islands, St. Croix

VIRGINIA

Virginia Tech, Blacksburg

Virginia State University, Petersburg

WASHINGTON

Northwest Indian College, Bellingham - OUR MISSION Through education, Northwest Indian College promotes Indigenous self-determination and knowledge.

Washington State University, Pullman

WEST VIRGINIA

West Virginia State University, Institute

West Virginia University, Morgantown

WISCONSIN

College of Menominee Nation, Keshena

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Hayward 

University of Wisconsin, Madison

WYOMING

University of Wyoming, Laramie