North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University will commemorate the 135th anniversary of the Second Morrill Act with a series of milestone events throughout the 2025-26 academic year, highlighting its legacy as a land-grant institution and celebrating the contributions of small-scale farmers, student researchers and agricultural innovation.
The College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences (CAES) will lead the celebration under a newly unveiled motto: “Where Science Meets Society.”
“It’s our mission, as the ‘A’ in N.C. A&T, to take the results of our research out of the lab and bring them to the people to help them improve their lives,” said Radiah Minor, Ph.D., interim CAES dean. “This landmark piece of legislation, the Second Morrill Act of 1890, opened the doors of higher education wider to include people of color, and today, we lead the way in agriculture, STEM and groundbreaking research.”
Passed in 1890, the Second Morrill Act expanded the nation’s land-grant university system to include historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in states that had previously excluded Black students from public higher education. A&T was established under the act and has since grown into the largest HBCU in the country, with more than 15,000 students expected in fall 2025. It is now a national leader in engineering, agriculture and research, ranking third in sponsored research across the 17-campus UNC System.
The celebration will launch Wednesday, Sept. 3, with the Showcase of Excellence, a student research and academic poster event. More than 100 students will present on topics including research, internships and study-abroad experiences.
“In support of the land-grant mission of teaching, this year’s showcase will pay tribute to the Second Morrill Act’s anniversary,” said Antoine Alston, Ph.D., associate CAES dean for academics. “This showcase represents the cream of the crop for our college.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 9, the college’s artificial intelligence team will travel to Washington, D.C., to compete in the PlayCyber Cyber and AI Games for Agriculture. The competition, led by Harmandeep Sharma, Ph.D., will challenge students with 25 agriculture-focused AI and cybersecurity scenarios to address threats to food supply chains and commodity safety.
Later in the fall, the university will host a celebratory dinner on Friday, Oct. 24, during Agriculture Awareness Weekend. The farm-to-table event at the University Farm Pavilion will include a premiere of “135 Years Strong,” a commemorative video documenting A&T’s history and growth.
The anniversary will continue into spring 2026 with the 40th annual Small Farms Week, hosted by Cooperative Extension at N.C. A&T. The weeklong celebration honors the state’s small-scale farmers and their vital role in North Carolina’s $111 billion agricultural economy.
This year’s festivities will spotlight 2025 Small Farmers of the Year Elvin and Madeline Eaton of Granville County and culminate in the crowning of the 2026 Small Farmer of the Year during a farm-to-table event.
“Small-scale farmers are the backbone of our state, growing the food we eat and caring for the land,” said M. Ray McKinnie, Cooperative Extension administrator at A&T. “Because of the Second Morrill Act, we exist and can do that.”
Additional events and updates will be shared throughout the academic year on the university’s 135th anniversary webpage.