Do you know who started the public University system in this country?

[cali]

Do you know what he said about why it was needed?

"We have schools to teach the art of man slaying and to make masters of deep-throated engines of war. Shall we not have schools to teach men the way to feed, cloth and enlighten the great brotherhood of man?"


America's higher education system faces a challenge: skyrocketing tuition costs and deep cuts in state and federal spending.

And families looking at mounting student debt wonder whether they should invest in degrees that aren't leading to jobs that can pay off in a tough economy.

As educators and lawmakers discuss these issues, this summer they're also revisiting the nineteenth century Morrill Land Grant Act, the legislation that launched a nationwide project of building colleges and universities - including the University of Vermont. They're also asking whether the legislation's original mission to make education more accessible is now under threat.

<snip>

http://www.vpr.net/news_detail/95227/150-years-later-revisiting-justin-morrills-land-gr/

Justin Morrill was one of the founders of the Republican Party. Can you imagine the horror he'd feel on seeing what it is today?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Morrill

[leveymg]

1. Thomas Jefferson founded UVA in 1819.

I know that it's not a Land Grant school, but it is a public university.

[bluerum]

2. There is a national public university system?

I thought they were exclusively state level.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

3. Quakers.

Long before Justin Morrill was born, the Quakers were in favor of public education. Their desire for public education influenced others. Such desire was first expressed in the 1600's. It ultimately evolved to the establishment of public universities.

A public university was established prior to the First Morrill Act of 1862.

In 1837 Richard Humphreys, a Quaker philanthropist, founded the Institute for Colored Youth in Philadelphia to train free blacks to become teachers. It was moved to Cheyney, Pennsylvania, where it later became Cheyney University. In 1890 Sen. Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont introduced the Second Morrill Act because the First Morrill Act of 1862 was inadequately funded and some Southern states did not use the initial funds to establish black land-grant colleges.
http://www.ehow.com/about_6310020_information-hbcu.html

Justin Morrill also knew Quakers before pushing for the First Morrill Act of 1862, including a Quaker girl that he was smitten with.

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

4. The first U.S. public university is the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

in 1789, not UVA.

And, in a shameless self-promoting way, the first university in Europe is the University of Bologna, my hometown, chartered in 1088.

[TBF]

5. My alma mater, Wisconsin (UW-Madison) was established in 1848

and became land grant in 1866. That system has been instrumental in so many non-rich children getting college educations. I'm appalled at the dismantling I've seen in this area and many others in the past 30 years.