Book talk: The Modern Land-Grant University

Higher education is becoming an increasingly competitive environment. By reexamining what it means to be a “land-grant university,” Sternberg offers land-grant institutions a vision to meet the challenges of the modern age. Join us for a Chat in the Stacks with Robert J. Sternberg, professor of human development at Cornell, to hear about his new book The Modern Land-Grant University (Purdue University Press, July 2014).

Outlined in the Morrill Land Grant Acts of 1862 and 1890, the land-grant mission was not only about agricultural development, but about changing the world in positive, meaningful ways, incorporating opportunity for all. Today, the essence of the land-grant is in its mission of service and service-minded leadership, providing a liberal and relevant education, whether that be crafting the undergraduate academic experience, stimulating research, or engaging with the community through extension activities. Challenges include developing new funding models, reevaluating their mission, and making decisions about future models of delivery for educational services. Sternberg is also the author of two new books Academic Leadership in Higher Education and Ethical Challenges in the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, just published this month.

This Sesquicentennial Lecture is presented in conjunction with Mann Library's exhibit: "Knowledge with a Public Purpose: A Cornell History," on view in March, in Mann Library galleries.

Buffalo Street Books will offer books for purchase and signing. Light refreshments served.