The Ohio State University is a land-grant university. But what does that mean? The name “land-grant” comes from the Morrill Act of 1862 that granted unclaimed land to each state. Why? So states could sell the land and use the money to form colleges and universities where all citizens could access education. Land-grant schools originally offered a wide variety of classical studies and practical subjects, including agriculture and mechanic arts.
Every state has at least one land-grant institution. Since the first Morrill Act, two additional Morrill Acts (one in 1890 and another in 1994) have been added, with a total of 112 colleges and universities across the United States now called land-grant.
The Morrill Act is named after the legislation's sponsor, Justin Smith Morrill, first a representative and then later a senator from Vermont.