The University of Nebraska Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources (IANR) at UNL was created by the Nebraska Legislature in 1973 through the enactment of LB149. This legislation culminated more than ten years of discussion by state leaders, University officials and agriculture interests in Nebraska who were concerned that agriculture was not being given proper financial support, administrative access and prominence within the University—especially considering the unquestioned importance and contributions of agriculture and natural resources to the state’s economy and success.
IANR is composed of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR), the Agricultural Research Division (ARD), Nebraska Extension and the ARD and Extension components of three departments in the College of Education and Human Sciences. IANR innovation in research, teaching, and extension education places Nebraska on the leading edge of food production, environmental stewardship, human nutrition, business development, and youth engagement.
College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources (CASNR) prepares students for careers in everything from animals to plants, soil to climate, golf to business, mechanization to leadership, and food to forensic science. Students are prepared for successful careers and a lifetime of informed decisions through the development of food, fuel, water, and landscape systems as models for formal and informal science education.
Agricultural Research Division (ARD) is the only public entity in Nebraska charged with conducting agricultural research vital to Nebraska where agriculture is the leading industry. Many ARD scientists, who currently are working on approximately 300 research projects throughout Nebraska, also hold teaching or extension appointments. That means exciting new discoveries move quickly from the field or laboratory into the classroom and across Nebraska.
Nebraska Extension delivers research-based knowledge Nebraskans can immediately use in their lives, businesses, families and communities. Extension’s key focus areas are animal agriculture, crops for the future, children, youth and families, entrepreneurship, food, nutrition and health, water and environment. Approximately 144,000 Nebraska youth are involved in extension’s 4-H program.
A Little History
The University of Nebraska was founded in 1869 and its Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources has become a national and international powerhouse in teaching, research, and extension education. Watch the Ag College Dreams video for a look at the history of the Ag College at UNL.
The History of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources
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1848 — 1853 JUSTIN SMITH MORRILL HOMESTEAD
The architect of the Land Grant College Act of 1862 was Justin Smith Morrill, a self-educated legislator with keen interests in architecture and landscape design. The Morrill Act became the most important piece of educational legislation in the 19th century, providing a liberal and practical education of agriculture, engineering, and related fields for the working class and minorities. Designed in 1848-1853 during a brief retirement from commerce and before entering politics, Morrill's 17-room Gothic Revival cottage is resplendent with elaborate detail. The house's exterior flush board siding is painted the original rosy pink color, Merrill's attempt to imitate the appearance of cut sandstone. Located at Strafford, Vt. and owned by the Morrill family until 1938, the Morrill Homestead of buildings, gardens, and pond was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1960 and purchased by the Justin Smith Morrill Foundation in 1961. In 1969, the Homestead was donated to the State of Vermont and opened to the public as a Vermont Historic Site.
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July 2, 1862 The Morrill Act
President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act into law, creating the framework for land grant institutions' missions of teaching, research and outreach in agriculture and the mechanic arts.
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February 15, 1869 Literis Dedicata et Omnibus Artibus
University of Nebraska founded. Charter documents indicate a broad mission focused on the “various branches of literature, science and the arts.”
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March 2, 1887 The Hatch Act
The Hatch Act established agricultural experiment stations in which research would be conducted that would benefit the people of the U.S. states and territories.
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August 30, 1890 The Second Morrill Act
The Second Morrill Act allocated a portion of the proceeds of public lands to support the land-grant institutions and their missions of teaching, research and outreach in agriculture and the mechanic arts. It also gave equal land-grant status to the nation’s historically black colleges and universities.
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1899 Agricultural Communications
Built in 1899 at a cost of $27,500, the former Agricultural Experiment Station is the oldest building on East Campus. Initially it housed laboratories for bacteriology, soils, agricultural chemistry, entomology and botany; horticultural workrooms, a library, an accounting division and a bicycle room. A number of chick feeding trials took place in the basement prior to extensive remodeling in 1960, when the Department of Information moved in. The building now is home to IANR Media and other units.