Segal Op-Ed Discusses Significance of Morrill Land-Grant Act

An opinion piece in The Times Higher Education magazine by University of Maine professor of history Howard Segal discusses the importance of the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Act signed by President Abraham Lincoln, which created of a system of public colleges in the United States. Segal asserts that although it was widely considered that land-grant colleges and institutions would have practical, job-creating components, it was never assumed that liberal arts would not have a place, too. Segal suggests that in commemorating the Morrill Act this year, critics of higher educational curricula should remember that Morrill and his fellow legislators envisioned a broader educational spectrum than one “reducible to the bottom-line quarterly corporate reports.”

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