EXHIBITS

Utah State University Extension

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Extension Activity Report [Click image to enlarge.]
(Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, University Extension Service Reports, University Archives, 19.1/1:47 Box 92.)
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The work of Extension (Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives, University Extension Service Reports, University Archives, 19.1/1:47 Box 17.)

Utah State University, originally named the Agricultural College of Utah, was founded in 1888 using funds from the Land-Grant College Act of 1862. This act endowed land to each state for the purpose of funding a land-grant institution which was to focus on agriculture and mechanic arts.[1] This focus invited students from farms and trades to come to school who never could have considered it previously. The Agricultural College of Utah pursued this mission of training students from all walks of life by creating extension services which would take training to the people.

Extended history of Utah Agricultural College 

 An interview with Arthur Anderson, a county agent

The interview with Arthur Anderson, a county agent, gives his explanation of the purpose of a county agent and how they were received by farmers.

“The Cooperative Extension Service is sponsored and financed jointly by federal, state, and county governments. There is a Cooperative Extension Service in the land grant institution of each state.

“The main functions of the Cooperative Extension Service are to develop leadership, resourcefulness, and initiative; to supply factual information for discovering and solving problems; and to help people become more efficient, increase their income, improve their home and community environment, and raise their standard of living. University Extension takes the findings of research to the people of the state and brings unsolved problems back to the research workers at the University.”[2]

[1] “Land-Grant College Act of 1862: United States legislation,” Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed 18 March 2016, http://www.britannica.com/topic/Land-Grant-College-Act-of-1862.
[2] University Archives Record Group. Cooperative Extension Service heading in Utah State University Catalogs 1978. SCAUA-09p05s01-1978-202.