This book should be of great interest to faculty members and students, as well as those parents, legislators, policymakers, and other area stakeholders who have a vested interest in the well-being of America’s original public universities.

Since their inception in 1862, the U.S. land grant colleges have evolved to become the training ground for the nation's and the world's agriculturists. In this book, the committee examines the future of the colleges of agriculture in light of changing national priorities for the agricultural, food, and natural resource system. The effects of federal funding constraints also are examined, as are opportunities for growth presented by developments in science. The committee's preceding volume, Colleges of Agriculture at the Land Grant Universities: A Profile, is a compilation of the data that helped formulate the specific questions to be addressed. Colleges of Agriculture at the Land Grant Univerisities: Public Service and Public Policy is the deliberative report, rating conclusions and recommendations for institutional innovation and public policy. It addresses these and other questions: What education mission should colleges of agriculture adoptâ€"and what strategies should they useâ€"in light of significant changes in the agricultural complex? Research in agriculture is expected to respond to consumer demands, environmental concerns, world population growth, and increasing pressure on agricultural lands. Is the century-old structure of land grant university-based research up to the task? What is the role of extension in light of today's smaller farming communities and larger farming conglomerates? This volume is the culmination of a landmark evaluation of land grant colleges of agriculture, an American institution. This document will be of value to policymakers, administrators, and others involved in agricultural science and education.

The authors look at the forces driving change -- economic imperatives, technology, and market forces -- as well as the characteristics of the public university that make change difficult and suggest strategies at the state and federal level to preserve and strengthen public higher education as a resource for future generations. "They have certainly done the public university, and not only in the USA, a considerable service by mapping out the problem with such clarity and authority." -- Studies in Higher Education