A commitment to land-grant

Founded in 1874, the University of Nevada, Reno was established as Nevada’s land-grant institution under the Morrill Act of 1862, which was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln and provided for a land-grant institution in each state of the Union.

The designation allowed for use of funds generated by the sale of federal lands to establish and operate universities.

The words that were used in our state’s constitution, particularly in article 11, section 1, foreshadowed a greater purpose for our University: “… the promotion of intellectual, literary, scientific, mining, mechanical, agricultural and moral improvement” of the people of Nevada.

Today, serving our community, state, nation and world remains a foundational underpinning of everything we do as the state’s original land-grant university. We are a people’s enterprise, and it is our job to serve the needs of the people of Nevada. Our work is a direct reflection of our land-grant mission to teach, to discover and to engage. Land-grant at its core is all about working together, in finding the creative solutions that will guide our future. Land-grant is our heritage.

It is our commitment to future to generations.

We are doing this in the following ways:

■ Positive economic impact of more than $1.34 billion annually for Nevada.

■ Provide students with the greatest opportunity to access an affordable higher education.

■ Students from across Nevada and the nation who represent a multiplicity of experiences and backgrounds, racial and ethnic groups, socio-economic groups, faiths and beliefs.

■ Extension programs in every Nevada county, from youth programs in our largest urban centers to 4-H and wildland fire safety in our rural communities.

■ Physicians, nurses, public health and social work graduates from our School of Medicine, Orvis School of Nursing, School of Public Health and School of Social Work who are all working to extend the reach of health care into Nevada’s under-served communities.

■ Scientists developing drought-resistant crops, creating wildfire early-warning systems, and studying forest health in a warming world.

■ Engineers designing batteries for automobiles and other modes of clean transportation as we fight climate change.

■ Faculty who have played a role in expanding our horizons beyond earth to the Mars Rover projects and other faculty who are saving monster fish in the world’s remote waterways.

■ Commitment to the idea that student success is at the heart of everything we do, and who support every student’s dream to become whoever they want to be—all in a supportive culture we call The Wolf Pack Way.

"The path forward for the Wolf Pack has always been about meeting the changing needs of Nevada ... our best ideas and our finest moments have always been forged during the times when we have been faced with our most daunting challenges."

—Brian Sandoval, President