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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. 

NIFA and APLU are seeking nominations to honor Seaman A. Knapp, the father of the Cooperative Extension concept. In 1906, Knapp initiated the county-agent plan and, in order to promote the plan, organized boys’ cotton and corn growing clubs and in 1910 a girls’ corn and poultry club. These organizations were the forerunners of the modern 4-H Clubs. In today’s rapidly changing world, Cooperative Extension has evolved to meet the shifting local, national, and global needs of the people it serves.

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 prior to the  APLU annual meeting on November 12-14 in Seattle, Washington. 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 31, 2023. Recommendations should be forwarded submitted electronically using this form. A committee will review submissions and narrow the scope of the recommendations to make a final decision.

Make Nomination

NIFA/APLU Memorial Lecture Series History

YearLectureLecturerPositionTitle of Lecture
2022HATCHRobert J. JonesChancellor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
2021MORRILLClaud D. EvansRegent, Oklahoma State University 
2020KNAPPJoan Ferrini-MundyPresident, University of MainePositives in Pandemics: The Increased Need and Importance of Extension During Times of Crisis
2019HATCHBarry DunnPresident, South Dakota State UniversityWokini – A Morrill Obligation to Create a New Beginning
2018MORRILLHaley OliverAssociate Professor of Food Science, Purdue UniversityA Millennial's Perspective on the Role of Land-Grants in Global Resilience
2017KNAPPDennis DimickNational Geographic Executive Editor EmeritusExtension’s Inspiring Foundation and Challenge
2016HATCHGale A. BuchananFormer Dean and Director Emeritus, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, University of GeorgiaFeeding the World: A Legacy of William Henry Hatch 
2015MORRILLWilliam B. DeLauderPresident Emeritus, Delaware State University1890 Land-Grant Universities: 125 Years of Providing Access and Opportunities for Success
2014KNAPPMark E. KeenumPresident, Mississippi State UniversityA First Century of Progress, A Second Century of Promise: Extension's Role in America and the World
2013HATCHRobert L. PaarlbergBetty Freyhof Johnson '44 Professor of Political Science,
Wellesley College
Keeping Science out of African Agriculture
2012KNAPPWaded CruzadoPresident, Montana State UniversityWho Needs Extension, Anyway?: On Our Relevance and Values for the Next 100 Years of Engagement
2011MORRILLKenneth G. CassmanHeuermann Professor of Agronomy, University of Nebraska, LincolnMorrill Act/LGU Sesquicentennial 1862-2012
Framing the Issues on Spaceship Earth
2010HATCHMary E. ClutterFormer Assistant Director, Biological Sciences Directorate, National Science Foundation21st Century Agriculture
2009KNAPPCatherine A. BertiniProfessor of Practice and Public Administration, Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse UniversityThe Triple E Answer to Ending Hunger: Effective Extension and Education
2008HATCHWilliam H. Danforth, Jr.Chancellor Emeritus, Washington University in St. LouisImagining William Henry Hatch Today
2007MORRILLMichael V. MartinPresident, New Mexico State UniversityInduced Innovation: The Story of Land-Grant Universities
2006KNAPPChester P. FehlisAssociate Vice Chancellor, Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University SystemVisionary Leadership: Our Heritage, Our Future
2005HATCHWilliam B. DeLauderPresident Emeritus, Delaware State University and Executive Director, Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship ProgramThe Hatch Act of 1887: Legacy, Challenges, and Opportunities
2004MORRILLMartin C. JischkePresident, Purdue UniversityAdapting Justin Morrill's Vision to a New Century: The Imperative of Change for Land-Grant Universities
2003KNAPPDuane AckerPresident Emeritus, Kansas State University and former Assistant Secretary for Science and Education, USDAKnowledge, Wisdom, and Freedom - The Role of Extension
2002HATCHFrancille M. FirebaughVice Provost for Land-Grant Programs, Cornell UniversityLand-Grant University Missions - Why Bother Now?
2001MORRILLRichard M. FosterVice President for Programs, W. K. Kellogg FoundationReinforcing the Covenant - Relevance and Reformation in Higher Education
2000KNAPPJoseph McDonaldPresident, Salish Kootenai CollegeBuilding Extension Partnerships to Achieve Better Indian Communities Through 1994 Institutions
1999HATCHMark R. DrabenstottVice President & Economist, Director, Center for the Study of Rural America, Federal Reserve BankNew Future for Rural America: The Role of Land-Grant Universities
1998MORRILLSamuel H. SmithPresident, Washington State UniversityExtending Justin Morrill's Vision for the 21st Century - Access, Innovation, Technology, and the Student Learning Experience
1997KNAPPCharles B. KnappPresident, The Aspen Institute and President Emeritus, University of GeorgiaApplying Seaman Knapp's Ideals in the New Millennium
1996HATCHJerry D. CoulterChairman and CEO, Mycogen CorporationAgriculture Research: Truth, Justice and the American Way
1995MORRILLRobert L. ThompsonPresident and CEO, Winrock International Institute for Agricultural DevelopmentInternationalization: An Essential Component of a Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Education
1994KNAPPAlbert C. YatesPresident, Colorado State UniversityThe Renaissance of Outreach in the Land-Grant Tradition
1993HATCHKenneth CarpenterUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe U.S. Food and Agricultural Research System After 100 Years: The Legacy of Wilbur Atwater
1992MORRILLDonald W. ZachariasPresident, Mississippi State UniversityStrength for Agriculture Through Partnership, Technology, and Globalization
1991KNAPPGerald W. ThomasPresident Emeritus, New Mexico State UniversityAmerican Agriculture: Challenged in a Changing World
1990HATCHPerry L. AdkissonChancellor, Texas A&M University SystemWarning: Eating May be Harmful to Your Health
1989MORRILLWilliam P. HytchePresident, University of Maryland, Eastern ShoreA National Resource - A National Challenge: The 1890 Land-Grant Colleges and Universities
1988KNAPPMax LennonPresident, Clemson UniversityThe Shape of Things to Come
1987HATCHMartin K. Buckovac Hatch Act Centennial Celebration 1887-1987
1986HATCHJames B. Kendrick, Jr.Vice President, University of California, Berkeley 
1985MORRILL
(Inaugural Lecture)
Daniel G. Aldrich, Jr.Chancellor Emeritus, University of California, Irvine and former NASULGC PresidentThe Leading Object
1984   Joint NASULGC/ACE Meeting
1983KNAPPRussell G. Mawby Agricultural Scotomata: A Limiting Vision of the Future
1982KNAPPRoy M. KottmanActing Associate Director, Agricultural Experiment Station, University of Nevada and Vice President, Agricultural Administration Emeritus, The Ohio State UniversityThe Land-Grant System - Intent and Outcome
1981KNAPPD. Gale JohnsonProfessor (no institution identified)Domestic and International Agricultural Productivity
1980KNAPP
(Inaugural Lecture)
Lester Brown The Role of Land-Grant Universities in Creating a Sustainable Society

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