Abstract
This article concentrates on 1890 land-grant colleges' and universities' contributions to rural development in 16 southern and border states. The author contends that lifting rural dwellens out of ignorance and poverty has been a major objective of 1890 institutions. During the early years the 1890s sent out change-agents to encourage rural dwellers to improve their standard of living through education and self-help programs. These agents went into rural communities and taught farm families to raise better crops and livestock; improve their homes, schools, and community life; and despite inadequate funding of teaching, research, and extension at these schools, the 1890 schools made significant contributions to rural development. Moreover, the writer contends that the 1890 schools are not outmoded, but essential to rural development and to the education of American citizens during the rest of the 1990s and into the 21st century.
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Additional information
James W. Smith was born in Chatham, Virginia. He earned his B.S. degree from North Carolina A & T State University, his M.A. degree from Virginia State University, and his Ph.D. degree from Indiana University, Bloomington. Professor Smith is former chairman of the Department of History and International Studies at Virginia State University, and served briefly as interim Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs. He is the author of five books and co-author of two books, and has published several articles.Sojourners in Search of Freedom andChristianburg Institute: A Proud Heritage are two of his most recent books.
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Smith, J.W. Contributions of 1890 schools to rural development. Agric Hum Values 9, 51–58 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02226503
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02226503