Extension as the third function of agriculture college/university

• The most comprehensive example of this system is found in the land grant institution of the US which was established when president Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill act in 1862 providing at least one university level institution in each state.
• First Morrill Act (1862) reflected a growing demand for agricultural and technical education in the United States.
• The Morrill Act was intended to provide a broad segment of the population with a practical education that had direct relevance to their daily lives.
• The tribology role of teaching, research and extension as a matter of fact, are the characteristics of these Land Grant Institutions of the US.
• A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890.The Morrill Acts funded educational institutions by granting federally controlled land to the states for them to sell to raise funds to establish and endow “land-grant” colleges.
• The mission of these institutions as set forth in the 1862 Act is to focus on the teaching of practical agriculture science, military science and engineering as a response to the industrial revolution and changing social class. This mission was in contrast to the historic practice of higher education to focus on an abstract liberal arts curriculum.