From the Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences
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From the Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences As I reflect on the decades since the Morrill Land-Grant College Act was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862, I have a renewed respect for our nation’s land-grant university system. When the land-grant colleges opened their doors, they revolutionized higher education in America, making it possible for average citizens to get a practical education that would improve lives and livelihoods — while creating a workforce to help build a great nation. What makes the land-grant system even greater is the collaboration with experiment station research (Hatch Act of 1887) and the connection to the people through cooperative extension (Smith-Lever Act of 1914), which brought education and research to local communities. In Texas, we take the land-grant system one step further with the addition of our service missions: to protect our forests and animal and human health. When the Texas A&M Forest Service was created in 1915, the state’s vast forest resources came under the protection of the land-grant system. In 1969, with the opening of the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory, The Texas A&M University System became a partner in the protection of animal health and the prevention and control of zoonotic diseases. Texas A&M AgriLife has carried out the land-grant university mission of teaching, research, extension, and service for more than a century, moving seamlessly within the land-grant design as our nation’s history unfolded. We have grown with each decade, increasing our educational opportunities and student numbers, expanding our research to new horizons, broadening our outreach at home and around the world, and offering new levels of service to the many who depend on us. Each day I am inspired to know that the revolutionary creation of the land-grant mission in 1862 is just as relevant now as it was 150 years ago. Today, all of us at Texas A&M AgriLife are protecting our environment, enriching our youth, feeding our world, growing our economy, and improving our health. The methods are more advanced, but the model is the same: education and enlightenment by and for the people. In 2012, we joined other land-grant colleges and universities throughout the United States in celebrating the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862. The success, innovation, and prosperity chronicled in these pages are both a testament to the wisdom of the land-grant system and a challenge to continue our mission. This book is as much an acknowledgment of the Morrill Act sesquicentennial as it is a salute to the history of Texas A&M AgriLife — and a prelude to its future. Mark A. Hussey Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences Texas A&M AgriLife The Texas A&M University System 146 December 2012 The Board of Regents of The Texas A&M Acknowledgments University System This project began as part of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Richard A. Box, Chairman Centennial Celebration and quickly grew to encompass all parts of Texas’s Phil Adams, Vice Chairman great land-grant system and legacy. Thank you to all of the administration of Morris E. Foster Texas A&M AgriLife (at left) for their support of the project, particularly Dr. Elaine Mendoza Mark Hussey, Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and Life Sciences, Judy Morgan and Dr. Edward Smith, Director Emeritus, Texas AgriLife Extension Service. Jim Schwertner Cliff Thomas To tell a story as big as the Lone Star State took numerous contributors, John D. White particularly Dr. Margaret Hale, Steve Schulze, and Cady Auckerman, who James P. Wilson conceptualized and championed the project. Jon Mondrik and Ann Shurgin Quinten Womack, Student Regent from Texas A&M AgriLife Communications spearheaded the effort and truly made the accomplishments of 150 years come to life. Many thanks also to The Texas A&M University System Dr. Henry Dethloff for his foreword and original research. John Sharp, Chancellor Our thanks to the Heritage Subcommittee members who provided original input for the book: Dr. Ernie Davis, Johnny Fazzino, Dr. Chester Fehlis, Dr. Texas A&M University Ed Hiler, Patricia Gerling, Dr. Jennie Kitching, Ken Livingston, Dr. Jarvis R. Bowen Loftin, President Miller, Jon Mondrik, and Dr. Ellen Ritter. Texas A&M AgriLife Administration Our sincerest thanks to the many others who provided resources, milestones, Mark A. Hussey, Vice Chancellor and Dean for Agriculture and stories, interviews, photos, and reviews, including Dr. Larry Boleman, Life Sciences Kyle Smith, Dr. William Dugas, and Melissa Hussey; Dr. Dan Pfannstiel, Larry Boleman, Associate Vice Chancellor Director Emeritus, Texas Agricultural Extension Service; Dr. Neville William Dugas, Associate Vice Chancellor Clarke, Director Emeritus, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station; Dr. Toby Lepley, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service; Dr. Carl Anderson, Agency Directors Professor and Extension Specialist Emeritus; Bruce R. Miles, Director Tammy Beckham, Director, Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Emeritus, Texas Forest Service; Dr. Robert D. Baker, Professor Emeritus, Diagnostic Laboratory Forestry, Texas A&M University; Dr. Konrad Eugster, Executive Director Tom Boggus, Director, Texas A&M Forest Service Emeritus, Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory; Dr. C. Craig Nessler, Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Allen Jones, Professor, Soil and Crop Sciences; Linda Moon and staff at Douglas Steele, Director, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service the Texas A&M Forest Service; Stacy Morris of the Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory; John Chivvis and Alan Kurk of Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Centennial AgriLife Communications; Phyllis Earles, University Archivist, John B. Committee Members Coleman Library, Prairie View A&M University; and everyone in the Texas Cady Auckerman, Office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean A&M University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences departments and Monica Delisa, Texas A&M Foundation at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Centers who provided Macy Eaves, Student, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences resources. Patricia Gerling, Office of the Vice Chancellor and Dean Margaret Hale, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Danielle Harris, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Jimmy Keeton, Department of Nutrition and Food Science Ann Kenimer, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Max Malloy, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications Charlene Meyerdirk, Texas A&M AgriLife Nancye Penn, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Steve Schulze, Texas A&M AgriLife McKenzie Watkins, Student, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences 147 Bibliography Adams, John A., Jr. Conflict and Commerce on the Rio Grande: Laredo, 1755–1955. Hiler, Edward A., and Steven L. Bosserman. Together We Can: Pathways to Collective College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2008. 286 pp. Leadership in Agriculture at Texas A&M. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 2011. Althaus, Barbara Donalson. Kyle Tough: The Saga of Texas A&M’s Rise to Power in Athletics and Agriculture, 1902–1956. Jones, C. Allan. 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