The impact of today's land-grant institutions is broad and deep

Op-ed by Craig D. Weidemann

Shortly after Penn State was founded, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania commissioned the school's first president, Evan Pugh, to conduct chemical analyses of commercial fertilizers so that farmers would know what they were buying.

Right from the start, Penn State was seen as an institution that had a duty to make life better for Pennsylvania's citizens. This mission was formalized when Penn State became, in 1862 with the signing of the Morrill Act, one of the nation's first land-grant institutions.

On March 29 in Harrisburg, the University will celebrate its land-grant designation. We take this mission seriously, remaining deeply committed to fulfilling the Morrill Act signed into law by President Lincoln. In 1862, the United States was a nation that could barely feed itself. Today, it feeds much of the world, thanks to advances in agriculture pioneered at Penn State and other land-grant institutions nationwide. Communities, businesses, and local governments throughout Pennsylvania and across the country look to land-grant institutions for answers to vexing economic, social and cultural challenges.

Here at Penn State, we respond daily to pressing issues that emerge in Pennsylvania's 67 counties -- whether it's educational outreach on West Nile Virus or groundbreaking research on homeland security issues. Clearly, access to education and new knowledge is critical and remains fundamental for shaping our Commonwealth.

Great advances in agriculture, health care, technology, business, and industry have been informed by the work of faculty at our land-grant universities. Founded on the principles of access and excellence, the impact of these institutions is broad and deep. As the Commonwealth's sole land-grant university, Penn State's work impacts millions of lives within Pennsylvania and increasingly beyond.

Cooperative Extension is a key component of the land-grant system. The infrastructure of Cooperative Extension positions Penn State superbly to respond to the grassroots needs of our communities -- providing access to research and education that has been unparalleled worldwide. When county, state, and federal legislators allocate funding for Penn State, they are investing in the people of Pennsylvania. Individuals of all ages seek knowledge and advice from our Cooperative Extension offices, located in every county. Faculty, extension field-based educators, volunteers, and community members work together to identify needs and provide educational programs and research-based information to meet those needs.

At Penn State, we call it "outreach," and it's fundamental to fulfilling our land-grant mission. It's what Evan Pugh was doing when he analyzed fertilizers. Today, outreach takes many forms. Here are a few examples:

- Our faculty and staff work with state agencies and the agricultural community to ensure an adequate food and fiber supply and food safety through improved science-based detection, surveillance, prevention and education.

- Faculty provide cutting-edge skills and knowledge to the Commonwealth's workforce -- school districts, business and industry, health-care organizations, law enforcement and emergency response units.

- Extension staff enhance the quality of the environment through better understanding of agriculture's and forestry's complex links with soil, water, air and biotic resources.

- Faculty apply research-based interventions to address childhood obesity, reduce farm-related accidents, stimulate economic and community development, enhance rural health care, confront urban violence in our cities and tackle drug abuse in our small towns.

- Our faculty communicate the most recent technological advances, production practices and management concepts to our farmers and producers to ensure that Pennsylvania agriculture remains a viable and strong industry, returning economic benefit to the Commonwealth.

- Drawing on advanced research to confront terrorism, our field-based staff who serve on homeland security response teams in every Pennsylvania region bring the latest University knowledge to bear on this important issue. Scientists at Penn State are laying the groundwork for genetically engineering plants that can detect and signal the presence of many harmful chemical or biological agents. Experts are providing advice to engineers on how to make buildings strong enough to endure bomb blasts.

- Parents, teachers, volunteers and extension staff collaborate in every county to reach 267,000 children annually through Penn State's 4-H youth development programs.

A report that guided Penn State's early extension initiatives noted, "Extension work should be conducted broadly and fearlessly wherever it will benefit the people of the state." This still holds true today, as we prepare to commemorate our land-grant status.

Cooperative Extension and other major University outreach units -- Continuing Education, Public Broadcasting and the World Campus -- are recognized leaders in delivering programs with widespread impact, offering the largest and most diversified university outreach program portfolio in the nation. In Pennsylvania, one in every two households has at least one person participating in University outreach programming.

Evan Pugh would be astounded at the scale of Penn State's outreach efforts today. He would, however, have no trouble at all recognizing the mission.

Craig D. Weidemann is vice president for Outreach at Penn State.