A land-grant university is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890, or a beneficiary under the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994. There are 57 institutions which fall under the 1862 Act, 19 under the 1890 Act, and 35 under the 1994 Act.
Postal Service commemorative stamp
The Morrill Land-Grant Acts are United States statutes that allowed for the creation of land-grant colleges in U.S. states using the proceeds from sales of federally owned land, often obtained from Native American tribes through treaty, cession, or seizure. The Morrill Act of 1862 was enacted during the American Civil War, and the Morrill Act of 1890 expanded this model.
Justin Smith Morrill
Morrill Hall, on the campus of the University of Maryland, College Park (a land-grant university), is named for Senator Justin Morrill, in honor of the act he sponsored.
Morrill Hall, the first building of Cornell University, is named for Senator Justin Morrill, in honor of the Morrill Land-Grant act.
Beaumont Tower at Michigan State University marks the site of College Hall which is the first building in the United States to teach agricultural science.
