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Engagement is at the heart of an urban public research university. At FIU, faculty, staff and students work closely with community and global partners addressing the relevant issues of our time. Last year thousands of students and hundreds of faculty and staff collaborated with members of the community on a range of issues, contributing more than 550,000 service hours to hundreds of service projects.

FIU’s Office of Community Engagement was established in February 2010 as part of President Mark B. Rosenberg’s vision of FIU as “a leading student-centered urban public research university that is locally and globally engaged”. The office provides leadership for the development and coordination of partnerships at the local, state, national and international levels with the goal of aligning FIU’s instructional, research and creative initiatives with local and global needs and priorities. 

Under the leadership of Vice President Divina Grossman, the university and community are embracing a renewed spirit of engagement that is creating a more hopeful future for present and future generations.

THE MORRILL ACT SESQUICENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY

The Morrill Act, passed on July 2, 1862, under the sponsorship of Congressman Justin Morrill of Vermont and signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln, laid the foundation for public higher education for 150 years. The Morrill Act provided each state with 30,000 acres of Federal land, which was sold by state legislatures to fund public universities. Education linked to agriculture and the mechanical arts allowed state legislatures to promote liberal and practical learning of industrial classes in the various occupational areas. Currently, more than 100 land-grant universities serve the nation and the world by continuing their public service missions of educating students, seeking new knowledge and helping to solve problems. The Morrill Act Sesquicentennial Anniversary gives recognition to our forebears who saw higher education as a valuable investment worthy of public funding.

 

 

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