The College of Agriculture at a Turning Point in Its History

James H. Meyer, Chancellor Emeritus and Emeritus Professor in the Department, was invited as a participating scholar to present one sector of a live, six-part satellite national teleconference series originating at Clemson University in Greenville, NC, on December 11th. Some of the nation's most respected scholars shared their visions of the future for higher education and land-grant institutions.

After presenting his opening remarks, uplinked from a studio in Sacramento, Dr. Meyer responded to questions from audiences across the nation who participated in the telecast discussions via a telecommunications network that linked all the land-grant universities.

Dr. Meyer's topic, "The College of Agriculture at a Turning Point in Its History," evolved from his research on land-grant colleges, particularly colleges of agriculture. He feels they must incorporate a wider vision of the definition of agriculture, realigning their mission to encompass environmental management of all lands, not just those under agricultural production. Farmers, he feels, have a responsibility to consider long-term usefulness of their land, and colleges of agriculture must teach not only the dwindling number of farmers and ranchers but also environmentalists how to communicate effectively with each other. Our colleges of agriculture, he is convinced, contain some of the best experts in animal science, management of air, land and water, environmental toxicology and all the other disciplines that contribute to the best knowledge of how to manage our earth so it will survive. Increasing the awareness of the effects of human population growth, Dr. Meyer has come to conclude, is essential if we are not to overwhelm the earth.

The teleconference was sponsored by, among others, the Council on Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST), the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC) Board on Agriculture and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.