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Discover the unique role of Iowa State University as a land-grant institution and its contribution to American education. Learn about the Morrill Act, open enrollment policy, and the extension service.
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History of Iowa State UniversityA Land Grand Institution Here's a brief history lesson on the land-grant university and its unique place in American education.
Democracy - a new idea Very early in our history, it became obvious to our forefathers that if our "experiment with democracy" was to succeed, there was need for an informed and educated citizenry.
To be able to participate in government, people needed to be able to read, write, and communicate. This meant a free education for all children.
Up to this point in history education, especially higher education, was reserved for the wealthy, clergy and the very elite.
By the mid-1800’s another radical concept emerged. Education for the sons and daughters of the “working class”
We’re No. 1 Iowa was the first state to accept the provisions of the Morrill Act and good money managers parlayed 204,000 acres into an $800,000 endowment for a university. Morrill Act The act called for the federal government to provide each state with a grant of land that could be sold to finance a college, hence the name "land-grant."
Forged in the midst of the Civil War and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln, the Land-Grant Act of 1862 introduced a radical idea to American education -- that higher education should be practical and available to the masses.
These institutions had to show that race and color were not admissions criteria. In the South, "separate but equal" colleges, called the "1890 land-grants," sprang up. From the beginning, Iowa State had an open enrollment policy and its first African American student, George Washington Carver, enrolled in 1891. On a vote of 4 to 3, women were allowed at Iowa State from the beginning.
Subjects taught had to be of practical application to making a living and adding to the overall economy.
Two other pieces of legislation further defined land-grant colleges. Both acts had origins at Iowa State. The Hatch Act of 1887 created the agricultural experiment station program. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 extended the concept of service to the community by creating the federal Cooperative Extension Service.
It is no surprise that land-grant colleges quickly embraced their mission to improve American agriculture. Half the U.S. population lived on farms and another 10 percent were employed in agriculture.
Land-Grant Institutions Today "Society is changing, not only in who is feeding us, but in terms of where people are living, what their needs are, what kind of educational needs they have," Martin Jischke, former ISU President said, "Universities in general, and land-grant universities in particular, are being called on to change, adapt.”
“The door is wide open for extension in many ways, when it comes to new technologies, like virtual classrooms and distance learning.” -- Vice provost for extension Stan Johnson
And The History Continues Every Day Created by Barbara Hug County Extension Education Director ISU Extension Polk County Cartoon series Written by Diana Pounds Illustrated by Buck Jones Used with the permission of Diana Pounds
