The goals of higher education may be divided into four epochs that pivot on the Morrill Act.  Before the Morrill Act, higher education was foremost private serving elite citizens.  This ended in 1862 when Lincoln, spurred by the industrial revolution and its need for an educated �industrial class�, committed the federal government to higher education. The epoch of the industrial revolution ended in 1941 with the start of World War II. After the war, the massification of higher education began with the �G.I. Bill�. In response to cold war pressures Congress passed the National Defense Education Act leading to the University-based research infrastructure that exists now. The third epoch ended in 1991 with the disintegration of the Soviet Union.  Today we strive to extend the legacy of the Morrill Act and redefine the relevancy of higher education in an epoch of constrained federal resources and shifting national priorities.

The Morrill Act as prologue to federal participation in higher education and research

244th National Meeting (2012)

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