A Former Student’s Connection To Land-Grant Legend

Texas A&M University officials discovered that the university has a dual tie to the Morrill Act of 1862, the historic law that led to the establishment of Texas A&M and dozens of other land-grant colleges and universities. Texas A&M graduate Bill Morrill, Class of ’72, is a distant relative of the creator of the Morrill Act, Sen. Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont, who first proposed the bill to Congress in 1857.

Morrill, the great-great-grand-nephew of the senator, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in wildlife and fisheries sciences from Texas A&M and got his Ph.D. in ecological planning at another land-grant school, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. His wife, Freddie, is also an Aggie, Class of ’78. The two met in high school and married between Morrill’s bachelor and master studies. Mrs. Morrill came to Texas A&M to study landscape architecture and horticulture.

The Morrill land grants are credited with laying the foundation for the country’s system of state colleges and universities, bringing higher education to millions of citizens, regardless of their socioeconomic status. “This is the most important piece of legislation ever passed because it brought higher education to the common man and his children,” says Morrill. “The magnitude of his contribution is beyond description.”

The bill was signed into law on July 2, 1862, by Abraham Lincoln, and this year marks the Morrill Act’s 150th anniversary.

The Morrill Act provided that the federal government grant each state 30,000 acres of public land for each of its senators and representatives in Congress. In turn, the states were charged with using the land to create an endowment to establish and maintain public institutions of higher learning.

These institutions focused on agriculture, mechanics, military tactics and classical studies, allowing access to college education for farmers and other working-class people who may have been previously excluded.

“He was raised in a rural community,” says Morrill of his famous relative. “His dad and granddad were both blacksmiths and he only went as far as a high school education. When he became a U.S. senator, he saw a void in the university system ““ that it was not accessible to all. So he envisioned a system of university education for the industrial and working classes, and by doing that, we would create leaders in industry, agriculture and military to move the country forward.”

Morrill says that when he looks at Texas A&M, he sees the model of a modern-day land-grant university.

“If I were to take Justin and walk him around the university campus right now, he’d be amazed,” says Morrill. “He couldn’t have envisioned what he created: a diverse student population of almost 50,000; an international impact; experiment and extension services; contributions to the military and to all walks of life; and incredible technical advancements. He’d be amazed, humbled and satisfied. It’s an outstanding example of a land-grant university.”

Morrill recalls that what drew him to Texas A&M as an undergraduate was that it was practical and grounded. “It dealt with the private landowner and the situations he had to face,” he says. “It was an applied education.”

Morrill has used his education to become a biodiversity specialist and project manager, using his expertise in environmental science to consult in international mining operations and other projects in which environmental concerns are a factor.

The Morrill family recently travelled to Washington, D.C., where they participated in the national celebration of the Morrill Act’s sesquicentennial. Their daughter and son, Meghann and Justin Morrill, spoke at the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU) convocation on June 26. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates was the keynote speaker.

“Senator Morrill will be remembered as a statesman,” notes Morrill. “He was not a man who was doing this to get re-elected or to line his own pockets. He was a man of the people, who liked to just sit down on porches and talk to people about their daily life. He often lamented that he didn’t get any higher education, but his legacy was that he paved the way for millions to receive a university education.”