SENATE MEMORIAL 23

50th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2012

INTRODUCED BY

Mary Kay Papen

A MEMORIAL

RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING THE SESQUICENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING OF THE MORRILL ACT OF 1862 AND SUBSEQUENT FEDERAL LEGISLATION THAT CREATED AND ENHANCED THE MISSION OF NEW MEXICO STATE UNIVERSITY, NEW MEXICO'S LAND-GRANT COLLEGE.

     WHEREAS, the Morrill Act of 1862, which was enacted by the United States congress and signed into law on July 2, 1862 by President Abraham Lincoln, authorized the formation of land-grant colleges in all of the states and territories; and

     WHEREAS, under the act, each eligible state received a total of thirty thousand acres of federal land, either within or contiguous to its boundaries, for each member of congress that the state had as of the 1860 census; and

     WHEREAS, the purpose of establishing land-grant colleges was, according to language in the act, "without excluding other scientific and classical studies, and including military tactic, to teach such branches of learning as are related to agriculture and the mechanic arts, in such manner as the legislatures of the States may respectively prescribe, in order to promote the liberal and practical education of the industrial classes in the several pursuits and professions in life"; and

     WHEREAS, the Hatch Act of 1887 created the agricultural experiment station system within the agricultural colleges of land-grant universities for the purpose of conducting fundamental and applied research to address a state's agricultural, environmental and economic issues to benefit communities in every part of the state; and

     WHEREAS, the New Mexico territorial legislature of 1889 established the land-grant "agriculture college and experiment station", which officially opened on January 21, 1890; and

     WHEREAS, during its first full academic year, the college became known as the "New Mexico college of agriculture and mechanic arts", the first degree-granting institution in the New Mexico territory; and

     WHEREAS, under the provisions of the Morrill Act of 1862 and subsequent federal legislation, the special mission of land-grant institutions has been to provide a liberal and practical education for students and to sustain programs of research, extension education and public service; and

     WHEREAS, the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 established the cooperative extension service within the agricultural colleges of land-grant universities to disseminate the research findings of agricultural experiment station scientists; and

     WHEREAS, as a result, New Mexico state university's agricultural experiment station's research addresses issues raised by New Mexicans and disseminates this research-based knowledge through classroom teaching and statewide cooperative extension offices, thereby significantly broadening the outreach and impact of New Mexico state university; and

     WHEREAS, the Morrill Act of 1862 and subsequent federal legislation continue to provide New Mexico state university and its college of agricultural, consumer and environmental sciences with the research and outreach mission to produce and disseminate research-based knowledge to inform agricultural industries, natural resource management practice and policies, businesses, public agencies, households, families and individuals, thereby providing science-based solutions for New Mexico and helping to sustain and maintain America's leadership and competitiveness in the twenty-first century and beyond;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it recognize and value the enactment of the Morrill Act of 1862 and of subsequent federal legislation, all of which have leveraged billions of dollars into the state's economy, educated hundreds of thousands of New Mexicans, helped establish thousands of business enterprises, worked to preserve diverse cultures and traditions, supplied the building blocks for strong individuals and families and consistently improved the economic, social, environmental, agricultural and natural resource interests for all New Mexico residents, in all counties and in all Native American communities statewide; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the board of regents of New Mexico state university in honor and celebration of the sesquicentennial anniversary of the signing of the Morrill Act of 1862.

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