Campus and Community

A program commemorating the 150th anniversary of the founding of land-grant universities and the USDA

The year 1862 marks the founding of two types of institutions that touch the lives of people across the United States and the world every single day: public universities and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Public and land-grant universities and the USDA partner with communities to put research into action in the areas of agriculture and food, health care, sustainable living, urban and rural revitalization, and education. This Festival program will bring these partnerships to life through demonstrations, discussions, and hands-on activities.

• Learn how modern dairy farmers combine cutting edge research with traditional knowledge to bring you a fresh and safe product;
• Attend a “mini-university” class on astronomy, paleontology, sustainable energy, and many other topics;
• Explore innovative ideas that communities are using to repurpose items usually considered trash;
• Try a wide variety of 4-H program family activities, from gardening with heirloom seeds to robotics competitions;
• Enjoy community-based music and dance, which helps preserve and nurture traditional knowledge and keeps students motivated;
• Share a story about your personal experience with public university and USDA programs.

Did you know?

• President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act, which created the land-grant universities, in 1862, during the Civil War.
• The initiator of the bill founding land-grant universities, Justin Smith Morrill, was also a regent of the Smithsonian from 1883-1898.
• The Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) was founded in 1887 and today serves 217 members, including state universities, land-grant universities, state-university systems, and related organizations.
• The Cooperative Extension Service, created through the Smith—Lever Act of 1914, is a non-formal educational program administered by the USDA and based at land-grant universities. It is designed to help people use research-based knowledge to improve their lives.
• Land-grant universities added to the system in 1890 (including historically black colleges and universities or HBCUs) are known commonly as “the 1890s.” Native American tribal colleges were added in 1994, and are called “the 1994s.”