Land Grant Colleges/Extension Units

The term land grant colleges has come to refer specifically to U.S. institutions of higher learning that were funded by the sale of federal lands as called [Page 893]for originally under the Morrill Act of 1862 and then by subsequent federal legislation. In fact, several states had set up land grant institutions of higher learning in the United States well before the Morrill Act, but the great impetus came with this federal legislation and funding. The institutions that already existed used the money to expand their facilities and offerings, while many states started up new institutions with these funds. In almost all instances, these colleges and other institutions evolved over the decades to grow into major educational institutions ranging from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ...