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Historically Black Colleges and Universities


Celebrating the Agricultural Impacts of 1890 Land-Grant Universities

February 23, 2021 Faith Peppers, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Communications Director

USDA has a long history of investing in and supporting our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). The 19 HBCUs established under the Second Morrill Act of 1890, along with the two HBCU land-grant universities established in the original 1862 legislation – University of the...

Equity Research and Science

Mirror, Mirror, What Do You See? I See a Scientist Looking at Me

September 17, 2019 Justice Wright, Deputy Director of Communications, Research, Education and Economics mission area

Strolling down the aisles of most toy departments, parents are likely to see more diverse options such as a brown-faced doll holding her microscope and African-American action figures in engineering sets. Many toy manufacturers have removed the stigma of “traditional gender roles” and created...

Research and Science

A Tip of the Hat to our 1890 LGUs Celebrating 127 Years of Cutting Edge Science, Education, Community Service

August 30, 2017 Sonny Ramaswamy, Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

The author of the Act that created land-grant colleges, Congressman Justin Smith Morrill of Strafford, Vermont, had been disappointed that such educational institutions were out of reach for African-Americans. Almost 30 years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act of 1862, the Second...

Research and Science

Developing New Leaders in a Global Landscape

April 06, 2016 Carlos Harris, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Historically black colleges and universities, particularly the “1890 land-grant universities (LGUs),” have conducted groundbreaking studies to further advance agricultural research in this country, such as eradicating peanut allergens and food borne illnesses. Now, they’re making significant impacts...

Initiatives

USDA Creates On-site Application Acceptance Program to Recruit Highly Talented and Diverse Candidates

May 29, 2015 Deputy Associate Administrator Karen Comfort, Agricultural Marketing Service

USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is driven to recruit and hire new and diverse talent into our workforce. Recently, our agency participated in USDA’s innovative on-site application acceptance events targeting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving...

Initiatives

Historically Black Colleges and Universities Help Feed Kids During the Summer

August 07, 2013 Don Arnette, Regional Administrator, USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Southeast Region

Although about 21 million children nationwide receive free and reduced-priced meals through our National School Lunch Program, only about 3.5 million meals are served through the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) on a typical day. Closing this gap and ensuring that disadvantaged children do not go...

Food and Nutrition
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