A&T Guides Colleagues in Land-Grant Plans

October 7, 1996

Greensboro, NC: Representatives from West Virginia State College recently met with administrators and faculty from the North Carolina A&T State University School of Agriculture to examine what returning to the land-grant system will mean to the West Virginia institution.

"Land-grant institutions like A&T began as agricultural schools, but as agriculture and society have evolved, so too has the mission of the land-grant institution," said Dr. Daniel D. Godfrey, dean of the North Carolina A&T State University School of Agriculture. "We are now called upon to come together to address larger issues that require the involvement of several institutions."

West Virginia State College was founded in 1891 as a land-grant institution, but its land-grant status was dropped by the state legislature in 1957.

According to Dr. Steve Batson, vice-president for planning and development, West Virginia State College, administrators there began pursuing a return to the land-grant system in 1988. Following a 1991 approval of the West Virginia State Legislature, the institution then began preparing for its reunion with the nation's 105 other land-grant institutions. The visit to A&T by six West Virginia State College faculty and administrators was part of this preparation.

Since the First Morrill Act of 1862 authorized the establishment of a land grant institution in each state to educate citizens in agriculture, home economics, mechanical arts, and other practical professions, land-grant institutions have played an important part in improving the quality of life for millions of Americans.

The 1890 Land-Grant Institutions, like North Carolina A&T State University, were created as a result of the Second Morrill Act of 1890, which expanded the system of land-grant universities to include an historically black institution in those states where segregation denied minorities access to the land grant institution established in 1862.

While on campus, the West Virginia State delegates toured facilities and learned of A&T's involvement with the three focal points of a land-grant institution: teaching, research and extension.

"Land-grant institutions have a rich history of helping people help themselves," said Dr. Dalton McAfee, interim associate dean and associate administrator of the North Carolina A&T Cooperative Extension Program. "The Cooperative Extension Program and other various outreach efforts allow us to take the university to the people."

Similar to the relationship between land-grant institutions and cooperative extension programs, USDA funding is unique to these institutions. This funding supports specialized efforts, such as the International Trade Center of Excellence, and specific research projects, which are granted funding based on their applicability to the current needs of agriculture and society as a whole.

In a series of sessions, A&T researchers briefed the West Virginia delegates on research projects involving such timely issues as sustainable agriculture and food safety.

"From visiting North Carolina A&T, it's clear to us that there are many potential benefits to the community we serve by our joining the land-grant system," said Dr. Barbara Oden, vice-president for academic affairs, West Virginia State College. "The rural environment of our state and the needs of the people of our state encourage us to provide the kinds of opportunities that a land-grant institution enables. We feel that such opportunities in extension, research and teaching will benefit not only our institution, but the state of West Virginia as well."