Discover the Impact of
1890s Institution's Innovation

Mission

• The ARD is integrally involved in creating a society where all people have opportunities for wholesome living and learning through responsible pursuits of their goals and aspirations. To accomplish this, the food and agricultural research mission of the ARD is to:

• Provide visionary and enlightened leadership to member institutions as they continuously address issues impacting their ability to accomplish the food and agricultural research challenges facing the state, nation, and world at large.

• Primary attention is given to a broad-based research agenda and institutions’ capabilities in targeted areas that address the needs of all people in society but in particular, those who are socio-economically deprived.

 

​Vision

• The ARD envisions a region and a world with a safe and plentiful supply of food, fiber and water for all, where natural resources and businesses are managed in ways that are sustainable and serve the common good.

• The ARD is committed to:

• Innovative research programs that provide effective and efficient solutions to quality-of-life problems affecting individuals, families, and communities

• Development of society-ready graduates who are uniquely trained and in demand to tackle the diverse issues impacting the nation and the world

• Enhancement of the socioeconomic  condition of individuals, families, and communities in targeted regions

• Service as regional and national leaders in addressing the needs and challenges facing rural and urban communities as well as limited-resource farmers

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Research Focus Areas

• The foundation laid by the Morrill and Hatch Acts, directly and indirectly, impacted research and extension at the 1890 Universities, as they evolved over time. Conscientious sacrifice, persistence, and creativity were required for these institutions to collectively develop their current levels of expertise and overcome the many obstacles that arose to hinder their development to first-rate scientific research universities. Today the 1890 campuses are bristling with diverse, quality research programs that are problem-driven and interdisciplinary in nature. The basic and applied research programs involve the individual and joint collaboration of member institutions at the local, state, and national levels and are increasingly multi-institutional, multi-state, and stakeholder-driven. Designed to support medium and small-sized farms and businesses focused on maintaining natural resources, as well as targeted rural and urban communities, the 1890 Universities’ primary areas of research concentration include:

• Economically competitive and sustainable small-scale agricultural systems

• Crop diversity and alternative crops and marketing strategies for farmers

• Food safety and improved nutritional quality

• Family, youth, and community development

• Protection and improvement of water and food quality and quantity

• Environmental pollution and waste management

• Value-added plant and animal products

• Improved nutrition and health of urban and rural populations with particular emphasis on obesity

• Natural resource management and stewardship

• The ARD has long recognized that land-grant institutions must be relevant to the multitude of smaller, limited-resource producers and entrepreneurs who bring a wide range of skills and ideas for agriculture and natural resource practices; bring economic activity to rural communities; and supply a variety of specialized market niches. Thus, ARD has always sought innovative efforts through planning to assist this clientele. Some believe that without this segment of the food and natural resource system, the nation would be lacking in the richness of its agricultural and renewable natural resource-based businesses. Service to the country’s low-income or limited-resource families and communities is no less (and maybe even more) a land-grant mandate today than in earlier days of the National Land-Grant System. Thus, ARD commits to leveraging its available resources, both fiscal and human, into mutually beneficial strategic partnerships that seek solutions to pressing local, regional, national, and global food, agricultural, and natural resource research problems.

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Strategic Five-Year Goals

• ARD’s deliberations in developing five-year strategic plans have been weighed against past experiences, a deeply felt need for change, and available personnel and funding. The Association has kept intact its purpose: to redefine the vision, mission, and programs so that the Land-Grant Institutions can better engage in the changes taking place in the world; to maintain and strengthen its commitments to the people it serves; and, as the ARD does these things, to develop individual and collective models for food systems professionals, relevant research, and effective community outreach programs at the member institutions. Thus, ARD’s strategic goals are to: 

• Expand and strengthen alliances and partnerships among constituencies, the Land-Grant Institutions, and other public/private agencies and groups in the region

• Develop meaningful, mutually beneficial collaborations among 1862, 1890, and 1994 Land-Grant Institutions toward the realization of organizational efficiencies and synergies that broaden and deepen the agricultural expertise and the expansion of access and relevancy for the nation’s food and agricultural systems

• Build international linkages to contribute our unique strengths to the development of global food security, environmental sustainability, and competitiveness of U.S. food, agricultural, and natural resource-based businesses

• Function through interdisciplinary teams within and among institutions

• Focus on issues relevant to underserved populations, and rural and urban communities in the respective regions

• Empower communities through skill and leadership development and promotion of entrepreneurship

• Address challenges, opportunities, and concerns pertinent to small-scale farmers and limited-resource families

• Strengthen the Academic-Extension-Research linkage at each university and across the 1890 University System

• Provide outstanding scientific and professional expertise needed in meeting the demands of a diverse food and agricultural workforce for the 21st Century

• Institute systems for greater program accountability to meet the mandates of local, state, and national governments, as appropriate

• Engage in initiatives that have relevance to the individual state and local needs of each university

• Communicate the unique attributes and accomplishments of the 1890s