Interim President Charlotte P. Morris welcomes continued federal conversations on investment in 1890 Universities

June 18, 2021

Contact: Kawana McGough, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
 

Tuskegee, Alabama 鈥� Following the U.S. House Agriculture Committee鈥檚 June 16th hearing on the 1890 Universities, Dr. Charlotte P. Morris released the following statement:

I would like to thank the members of the House Agriculture Committee for holding this important hearing. I am also grateful to Chairman David Scott who was instrumental in leading the efforts to secure student scholarships in agriculture, additional funding for the creation of 1890 Centers of Excellence, and upgrades for research facilities in the 2018 Farm Bill.

I welcome these conversations on how to best support the 1890 Land-Grant Universities, included in our and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. It is clear that longstanding inequities exist in this sector, especially related to challenges related to state matching funds and infrastructure on campuses such as ours. I appreciate the Committee鈥檚 continued support and look forward to continuing discussions on how to best support our communities and the country.鈥�

The hearing which took place on June 16th at 10:00 am EST titled, 鈥�1890 Land Grant Institutions: Investing for Agricultural Resiliency, Equity, and Global Impact鈥� focused primarily on seeking solutions to continue better supporting the 1890 Universities, addressing historic inequalities in federal support, and ensuring the Universities鈥� continued success. 1890 University leaders are working with Congress on including HBCU infrastructure improvements in whatever package emerges this year.

Thanks to the efforts of various members of the Committee, the 2018 Farm Bill included mandatory funding for scholarships to 1890 institutions, established six Centers of Excellence to be led by 1890 universities, and corrected an inequity in the carryover of extension funds from year to year.

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