During the University of Idaho presidential candidate open forums March 4 to March 8, multiple candidates mentioned the importance of land grant universities — a classification of universities such as UI that dates back to the 1800s.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln passed the Morrill Act, awarding a grant of land to each state, meant for the construction of a university. The act was later extended to include historically African American colleges in 1890 and Tribal colleges in 1994.
Under the Morrill Act, universities were required to teach agriculture and mechanical arts, such as engineering.
UI President Chuck Staben said before the Morrill Act, there were about 300 people with engineering degrees in the United States. However, after the implementation of the act, by 1890, roughly 3,000 people graduated with engineering degrees each year.
Alex Brizee | Argonaut
Land grant university locations.
Michael Parrella, dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, said prior to the Morrill Act, universities were located in the eastern half of the United States and were restricted to the upper class, typically offering only three degrees — medicine, theology and law.
After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, westward expansion led to an increase in subsistence farmers in the western United States, Parrella said. These farmers had a need for knowledge about what to plant, what types of soils and fertilizers to use and other agricultural concerns, he said.
“These people were very smart and very hardworking, but they had no access to universities,” he said.
The idea behind the land grant university system was education for the industrial classes and for people that did not have access to education, Parrella said. Staben said he thinks the most important ideal expressed in the Morrill Act was the promotion of liberal and practical arts education.
“It’s about making educated citizens who can contribute productively,” Staben said.
In 1887, the Hatch Act was passed, which established the agricultural experiment station. Parrella said this provided money for each state where there was a land grant institution in order to develop programs that would focus on the advancement of agriculture.
In 1889, the Territory of Idaho became eligible for funds from both the Morrill Act and the Hatch Act, Parrella said. In October 1892, the University of Idaho opened its doors.
In 1901, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences — then the College of Agriculture — was established by UI President James A. MacLean.
Chuck Staben | Courtesy
Parrella said in 1914, the Smith-Lever Act founded the cooperative extension service, which applied to land grant universities where there was an agricultural experiment station. Currently, there are extension offices in 42 of the 44 counties in Idaho. These extension offices bring knowledge and research from UI and share it with stakeholders and the community.
“It was those three acts that have really made the agricultural enterprise in North America the envy of the world,” Parrella said. “There’s nothing else like it.
Due to the land grant premise being to educate the industrial classes, there is an expectation of delivery of scientific information, Parrella said. Researchers must advance science within their own discipline, but they are also accountable for communicating the value of their research and how it impacts stakeholders.
UI faculty are expected to teach, research and deliver information to the public, which also provides an opportunity for the public to deliver information back to the institution, Parrella said.
Juliet Marshall, UI research professor and extension specialist at the Idaho Falls Research and Extension Center, uses grant money from the Hatch and Smith-Lever Acts to test varieties of wheat and barley for diseases and disease resistance in southeast Idaho. Marshall said she uses her research to educate stakeholders on different varieties of cereal crops and how to control diseases and insects that can affect those crops.
Michael Parrella | Courtesy
“The land grant mission really is important for research that directly benefits our producers,” Marshall said. “The mission is specific for meeting the needs of our stakeholders, and if you’re not at a land grant institution, you don’t have that mission.”
Even though land grant institutions were developed more than 100 years ago, Staben said the idea behind the land grant is still fundamental to the mission of UI.
“When I talk about wanting to ensure that every Idahoan who is academically able can get a great education, this is where that sentiment comes from,” Staben said. “And when we talk about engaging with our public and listening to what our community’s needs are. It’s more the inspiration and spirit of a land grant university that I think makes us great.”
Jordan Willson can be reached at [email protected]