West Virginia University - News and Information Services
WVU to host meeting of W.Va. Association of Land-Grant Institutions
A senior official with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be the featured speaker at the second annual meeting of the West Virginia Association of Land-Grant Institutions Tuesday, Jan. 23, beginning at noon in the Gold Ballroom at the Mountainlair.
Dr. Colien Heffernan, administrator of the USDA’s Cooperate State Research, Education and Extension Service (CSREES), will address "Engaging New Partners."
WVU President David C. Hardesty Jr. and West Virginia State College President Hazo W. Carter, Jr will make welcoming remarks.
Before and after the luncheon, faculty and officials from West Virginia’s two land-grant institutions will meet to explore opportunities for collaborative teaching, research and service.
Hefferan joined the USDA in 1979 as an economist with the Family Economics Research Group, Agricultural Research Service. She transferred to the Cooperative State Research Service in 1988, where she served as deputy administrator for Natural Resources, Food and Social Sciences.
She has a Ph.D. and M.S. degree from the University of Illinois and a B.S. degree from the University of Arizona.
About land-grant colleges and institutions:
Land-grant colleges and universities are institutions of higher education established in the U.S. under the provisions of the Morrill Acts (also known as Land-Grant Acts) of 1862 and 1890. These landmark legislations provided each state with land and funding to create a university that would offer practical education to all citizens. West Virginia has two land grant institutions, West Virginia University (established under the 1862 act) and West Virginia State College (established under the 1890 act).
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