Cornell University. Texas A&M. The University of California. Some of the top American universities and university systems share a common identifier: They’re land-grant colleges, created in the mid-19th century after the passage of the Morrill Land-Grant College Act of 1862.
The country’s 100-plus land-grant colleges — which include large state universities and even some private schools — are among its most beloved bastions of higher education. But according to Margaret Nash, a professor in the G