Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences: Leading the land-grant mission of the future

Today (March 29), Pennsylvania legislators will vote on resolutions resolutions celebrating Penn State's designation as Pennsylvania's singular land-grant university. This story is just one example of Penn State's impact on the commonwealth.

University Park, Pa. -- On May 6, 1862, two months before Congress passed the Morrill Act that established land-grant status and funding for selected colleges and universities across the country, the founders of Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania changed the school's name to the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania. That move positioned the institution -- chartered in 1855 and situated on a 200-acre tract in Centre County that would later become Penn State's University Park campus -- to be the commonwealth's focal point for land-grant education.

That the federal government would pause to pass land-grant legislation at all while the Civil War was raging speaks to how vital agricultural education was viewed in the young country.

There was a growing realization across America that a new type of college education was needed to meet the requirements of scientific, mechanical and practical vocations, such as agriculture, and that some sort of federal endowment was needed to subsidize this critical training.

"Penn State was a college of scientific agriculture before Congress passed the Land-Grant Act," said Penn State President Graham B. Spanier. "That legislation obligated the University to expand its curriculum to include such fields as science, engineering and the liberal arts, and gave Penn State a three-part mission of teaching, research and outreach that has guided it ever since."

As the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania diversified its curriculum and enrollment slowly grew, it saw several name changes, to Pennsylvania State College in 1874 and to The Pennsylvania State University in 1953. All the while it kept a strong emphasis on agricultural education, research and outreach. And as Penn State broadened its horizons, so, too, did its College of Agricultural Sciences, embracing the entire spectrum of food and fiber production.

"The land-grant concept has created an educational system that by any standard is a proven success, and that other countries are emulating," says Robert Steele, dean of the college. "The intimate link between cutting-edge research and practical application remains the basis of its success and continues to be as relevant today as it was the day of its inception.

"Today, the college continues to support an incredibly successful and complex food and fiber production and distribution system that impacts the health and well-being of every citizen. College scientists also focus on a wealth of emerging issues such as food safety, homeland security, environmental protection and economic development as well as social issues such as obesity, youth development, and e-commerce."

As Penn State prepares to celebrate its sesquicentennial in 2005 and mark 150 years of agricultural education, the College of Agricultural Sciences also will celebrate tremendous growth. While helping to shape the science that has dramatically changed food production in the last century and a half, the college has stayed true to its historic land-grant mission by furthering education in the agricultural sciences, while utilizing the latest technology to help the state's citizens address today's complex issues.

"From the outset, Penn State has been a national leader in cooperative extension and outreach," said Ted Alter, associate vice president of outreach and cooperative extension. "We have a rich tradition of science-based, innovative, progressive and entrepreneurial extension and outreach programs. Penn State Cooperative Extension has been a major contributor to improving production, profitability and quality of life for people involved in Pennsylvania's agriculture, food system, and rural communities."

Today, the college offers students courses from the following disciplines:

-- agricultural and biological engineering: http://www.age.psu.edu/

-- agricultural economics and rural sociology: http://www.aers.psu.edu/

-- agricultural and extension education: http://agexted.cas.psu.edu/

-- crop and soil sciences: http://cropsoil.psu.edu/

-- dairy and animal science: http://www.das.psu.edu/

-- entomology: http://www.ento.psu.edu/

-- food science: http://www.foodscience.psu.edu/

-- horticulture: http://hortweb.cas.psu.edu/

-- plant pathology: http://www.ppath.cas.psu.edu/

-- poultry science: http://poultry.cas.psu.edu/

-- veterinary science: http://www.vetsci.psu.edu/ and

-- forestry, wildlife and fisheries science

Penn State agricultural research has yielded advances that have helped farmers in the commonwealth and nationally increase production; develop new crops; manage plant pests and animal diseases; control, recycle and compost agricultural wastes; improve land use; reduce reliance on pesticides; protect water quality; and manage wildlife.

"Our goal in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is to continue to address the needs of producers and consumers of food and fiber through world-class research and to translate this research to useful products and information," said Bruce McPheron, associate dean of research. "We will continue to apply the principles of the land-grant mission to ensure a safe, healthy and abundant food supply in Pennsylvania, the nation and the world."

For more information on Penn State as a land-grant university, visit http://live.psu.edu/landgrant