GREENSBORO – Land-grant institutions were established by the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890 to focus on teaching agriculture, science and engineering.

“We are an incredible land-grant institution – that really is our mission,” Chancellor Harold Martin of NC Agricultural and Technical State University says in the accompanying video.

“And then we are secondly a doctoral research university, and that creates for us incredible opportunities to realize the enormous potential of the university.”

Martin discusses A&T’s recruitment of outstanding students, its emphasis on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields, and how it tries to provide students with experiences that equip them for the marketplace.

“It bears itself out based on the placement rates of our graduates, or the admissions into some of America’s top graduate and professional schools,” he says.

He also discusses innovative research that has led to patents and commercialization of A&T discoveries.

“It is an exciting time,” he says.  “We can do even more, but I think we’re doing a great job here based on the outcomes that we’re realizing from that great land-grant mission and doctoral research focus of our institution.”