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National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and Association of Public and Land-grant Universities Memorial Lecture Series

Each year the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) joins with the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) to sponsor a lecture presented at the APLU Annual Meeting.

The lecture honors one of the three most important historical figures of the Land-Grant University System, William Henry Hatch for research, Seaman A. Knapp for extension, and Justin Smith Morrill for whom the Morrill Act, which created the Land-Grant University System, is named. 

This year, NIFA and APLU NIFA and APLU are seeking nominations for the prestigious Hatch Lecture. The lecture commemorates the efforts of William H. Hatch, Congressman from Missouri who championed the Agricultural Experiment Station Founding Bill which became law in 1887 and to celebrate the accomplishments of the Experiment Station System which the Hatch Act created.

We are seeking an insightful topic and a dynamic speaker, who can provoke discussion among meeting participants and prepare a formal lecture to be presented at the APLU Annual Meeting in Denver, CO, November 6-8, 2022. While we seek recommendations from those within the Land-Grant University System, we also would encourage you to share this memorandum with colleagues outside of the research, education, and extension system, including stakeholders, foundations, public interest groups, or international organizations. Nominations are encouraged from all sources.

Recommendations should include the name of the nominee, title, address, telephone number, e-mail address and topic that could be discussed. Please submit your potential topic and/or presenter on or before July 29, 2022. Recommendations should be forwarded electronically to Davida Vanderpuye Tengey. A committee will review submissions and narrow the scope of the recommendations in order to make a final decision.

NIFA/APLU Memorial Lecture Series History

Year Lecture Lecturer Position Title of Lecture
2021 MORRILL Claud D. Evans Regent, Oklahoma State University  
2020 KNAPP Joan Ferrini-Mundy President, University of Maine Positives in Pandemics: The Increased Need and Importance of Extension During Times of Crisis
2019 HATCH Barry Dunn President, South Dakota State University Wokini – A Morrill Obligation to Create a New Beginning
2018 MORRILL Haley Oliver Associate Professor of Food Science, Purdue University A Millennial's Perspective on the Role of Land-Grants in Global Resilience
2017 KNAPP Dennis Dimick National Geographic Executive Editor Emeritus Extension’s Inspiring Foundation and Challenge
2016 HATCH Gale A. Buchanan Former Dean and Director Emeritus, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia

Feeding the World: A Legacy of William Henry Hatch 

2015 MORRILL William B. DeLauder President Emeritus, Delaware State University 1890 Land-Grant Universities: 125 Years of Providing Access and Opportunities for Success
2014 KNAPP Mark E. Keenum President, Mississippi State University A First Century of Progress, A Second Century of Promise: Extension's Role in America and the World
2013 HATCH Robert L. Paarlberg Betty Freyhof Johnson '44 Professor of Political Science,
Wellesley College
Keeping Science out of African Agriculture
2012 KNAPP Waded Cruzado President, Montana State University Who Needs Extension, Anyway?: On Our Relevance and Values for the Next 100 Years of Engagement
2011 MORRILL Kenneth G. Cassman Heuermann Professor of Agronomy, University of Nebraska, Lincoln Morrill Act/LGU Sesquicentennial 1862-2012
Framing the Issues on Spaceship Earth
2010 HATCH Mary E. Clutter Former Assistant Director, Biological Sciences Directorate, National Science Foundation 21st Century Agriculture
2009 KNAPP Catherine A. Bertini Professor of Practice and Public Administration, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University The Triple E Answer to Ending Hunger: Effective Extension and Education
2008 HATCH William H. Danforth, Jr. Chancellor Emeritus, Washington University in St. Louis Imagining William Henry Hatch Today
2007 MORRILL Michael V. Martin President, New Mexico State University Induced Innovation: The Story of Land-Grant Universities
2006 KNAPP Chester P. Fehlis Associate Vice Chancellor, Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University System Visionary Leadership: Our Heritage, Our Future
2005 HATCH William B. DeLauder President Emeritus, Delaware State University and Executive Director, Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program The Hatch Act of 1887: Legacy, Challenges, and Opportunities
2004 MORRILL Martin C. Jischke President, Purdue University Adapting Justin Morrill's Vision to a New Century: The Imperative of Change for Land-Grant Universities
2003 KNAPP Duane Acker President Emeritus, Kansas State University and former Assistant Secretary for Science and Education, USDA Knowledge, Wisdom, and Freedom - The Role of Extension
2002 HATCH Francille M. Firebaugh Vice Provost for Land-Grant Programs, Cornell University Land-Grant University Missions - Why Bother Now?
2001 MORRILL Richard M. Foster Vice President for Programs, W. K. Kellogg Foundation Reinforcing the Covenant - Relevance and Reformation in Higher Education
2000 KNAPP Joseph McDonald President, Salish Kootenai College Building Extension Partnerships to Achieve Better Indian Communities Through 1994 Institutions
1999 HATCH Mark R. Drabenstott Vice President & Economist, Director, Center for the Study of Rural America, Federal Reserve Bank New Future for Rural America: The Role of Land-Grant Universities
1998 MORRILL Samuel H. Smith President, Washington State University Extending Justin Morrill's Vision for the 21st Century - Access, Innovation, Technology, and the Student Learning Experience
1997 KNAPP Charles B. Knapp President, The Aspen Institute and President Emeritus, University of Georgia Applying Seaman Knapp's Ideals in the New Millennium
1996 HATCH Jerry D. Coulter Chairman and CEO, Mycogen Corporation Agriculture Research: Truth, Justice and the American Way
1995 MORRILL Robert L. Thompson President and CEO, Winrock International Institute for Agricultural Development Internationalization: An Essential Component of a Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Education
1994 KNAPP Albert C. Yates President, Colorado State University The Renaissance of Outreach in the Land-Grant Tradition
1993 HATCH Kenneth Carpenter University of California, Berkeley The U.S. Food and Agricultural Research System After 100 Years: The Legacy of Wilbur Atwater
1992 MORRILL Donald W. Zacharias President, Mississippi State University Strength for Agriculture Through Partnership, Technology, and Globalization
1991 KNAPP Gerald W. Thomas President Emeritus, New Mexico State University American Agriculture: Challenged in a Changing World
1990 HATCH Perry L. Adkisson Chancellor, Texas A&M University System Warning: Eating May be Harmful to Your Health
1989 MORRILL William P. Hytche President, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore A National Resource - A National Challenge: The 1890 Land-Grant Colleges and Universities
1988 KNAPP Max Lennon President, Clemson University The Shape of Things to Come
1987 HATCH Martin K. Buckovac   Hatch Act Centennial Celebration 1887-1987
1986 HATCH James B. Kendrick, Jr. Vice President, University of California, Berkeley  
1985 MORRILL
(Inaugural Lecture)
Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr. Chancellor Emeritus, University of California, Irvine and former NASULGC President The Leading Object
1984       Joint NASULGC/ACE Meeting
1983 KNAPP Russell G. Mawby   Agricultural Scotomata: A Limiting Vision of the Future
1982 KNAPP Roy M. Kottman Acting Associate Director, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Nevada and Vice President, Agricultural Administration Emeritus, The Ohio State University The Land-Grant System - Intent and Outcome
1981 KNAPP D. Gale Johnson Professor (no institution identified) Domestic and International Agricultural Productivity
1980 KNAPP
(Inaugural Lecture)
Lester Brown   The Role of Land-Grant Universities in Creating a Sustainable Society
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