What does it mean to be a land-grant school?

When I was deciding on whether to go to grad school or not, my major requirement was that the school had to be a land-grant college. Unless directly affect by its implications, I don't think many people understand the concept of land-grant schools, and many fewer would consider it a deal-breaker.

The first Morrill Act was passed by Abraham Lincoln in 1862, and it set forth an important governmental funding program for universities. As a general rule, most "State" colleges are land-grant schools receiving money from the US Department of Agriculture, and land from the respective state, to conduct research on agriculture. The Smith-Lever Act of 1914 created a catch: in order to sustain this funding, and use of land, these schools needed to establish an extension program. This is still in effect today, and requires that the results of agricultural research are immediately packaged and translated to the public in a way that is easy to understand and use.

Most times this readily affects major food producers, like farmers. However, recent conservation biology research has also used extension to educate the public on ways to restore species diversity in wetlands and grasslands. In fact, the Gardiner lab has a heavy extension component, and some of our current projects revolve around conserving bugs in home gardens and urban centers. Talk about public!

The classic image of the scientist is of one a reclusive and quirky person in a lab coat, but the extension component built into land-grant schools requires those same people to also enter the public eye. If you find this as important as I do, hit the books on which schools work this way. And, if agriculture isn't your thing, then keep an eye out for these types of schools as well:

Sea-grant (aquatic research)
Space-grant (space research)
Sun-grant (alternative energy research)

Science should never be a secret operation, and should never be feared when done correctly. Well...unless it has to do with robots and alien biopsies!