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 Justin Smith Morrill - the U.S. Senator primarily responsible for enactment of the historic legislation establishing the Land-grant University System. The Justin Smith Morrill Memorial Lectureship is awarded to honor outstanding contemporary leadership in teaching and significant contributions as an educator.
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. 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 August 23, 2024. 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
| Year | Lecture | Lecturer | Position | Title of Lecture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | KNAPP | Caroline Henney | Executive Director, Cooperative Extension System, Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) | |
| 2022 | HATCH | Robert J. Jones | Chancellor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | |
| 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 |