The House Agriculture Committee on Wednesday held a hearing to recognize the 125th anniversary of the historically black educational institutions known as the 1890 land-grant universities.

The universities were created by passage of the Second Morrill Act of 1890.

“The 1890 land-grant universities were originally created to promote education in agriculture and the mechanic arts while providing educational opportunity for all — specifically young African Americans who had been previously been excluded from land grant universities,” said House Agriculture Committee Chairman Michael Conaway, R-Texas.

“Over the years, these universities have stood as pillars in education and continue to provide world-class educational opportunities as well as serve as important institutions for agricultural research and extension programs,” he said.

House Agriculture ranking member Collin Peterson, D-Minn., noted that land-grant universities today play an important role in agricultural research, extension and educational programs.

“Research is vital to agriculture,” Peterson said. “USDA’s research, education and extension programs help increase productivity, prevent plant and animal disease, improve human nutrition and health, and discover and utilize new technologies. I look forward to future hearings on agriculture research.”

Six presidents of the 1890 universities testified at the hearing.

Witness testimony

• George C. Wright, president, Prairie View Agriculture and Mechanical University, Prairie View, Texas
• Jessica Bailey, interim president, Fort Valley State University, Fort Valley, Ga.
• Harold L. Martin Sr., chancellor, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, Greensboro, N.C.
• Elmira Mangum, president, Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, Fla.
• Brian Johnson, president, Tuskegee University, Tuskegee, Ala.
• Juliette B. Bell, president, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, Md.