In 1863, Pennsylvania's General Assembly passed legislation naming the Agricultural College of Pennsylvania (later the Pennsylvania State University) as the sole beneficiary of the state's Morrill Land Grant, a designation which was desperately needed to fund the College's growing success and to fulfill the broad visions of its president, agricultural chemist Evan Pugh. However, other institutions in the state quickly contested the designation, seeking their own share of the grant despite their more traditional, classical curricula. Combined with the untimely death of Evan Pugh in 1864, this uncertainty and delay over land grant funding hobbled the College and particularly its scientific course of education for years to come. Framed within the evolving context of 19th century chemical education, this case study of Evan Pugh and the fight for Pennsylvania's land grant designation demonstrates the difficulties chemical educators faced in bringing their science to a broader audience of students.

Evan Pugh, chemical education, and the fight for Pennsylvania's land grant designation

244th National Meeting (2012)

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