WASHINGTON, D.C — Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack said parents are able to tell their children there is real opportunity in the small towns they live in because of land-grant universities like Iowa State University.
Vilsack, the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, spoke to university representatives about the future of farming and natural resources at the Association of Public and Land-Grand Universities’ convocation celebrating 150 years of the Morrill Act.
Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speaks to representatives of land-grant institutions on the future of agriculture at the celebration of 150 years of the Morrill Act. (Simone Del Rosario/Medill News Service)
“Because of your work, we have put into place a new structure and framework for a revitalized rural economy,” Vilsack told the faculty of land-grant institutions.
The Morrill Act was established in 1862 to donate land to states and territories for colleges of agriculture and mechanic arts. The idea was to make higher education available to the working class. Before that, a university education was primarily directed toward scholars and the upper class.
The Iowa legislature was the first state to accept the provisions of the act, and Iowa Agricultural College, now Iowa State University, received its land in 1864.
“We’re very proud to be the first state and the first university to accept the terms of the Morrill Act, which makes us the first land grant,” said Iowa State University President Steven Leath, who was in Washington for the celebration.
“The land-grant universities working with USDA and working with the private sector have the capacity to reshape not only the rural economy, but add a new dimension to the American economy,” Vilsack said.