We Aggies owe a lot to a man I would wager most of us had never heard of: Justin Smith Morrill. While he didn’t attend school past the age of 15, he fundamentally changed the shape of higher education. The successful businessman, who eventually became a Vermont Congressman and helped found the Republican Party, was the brain behind the Morrill Land-Grant Acts.

The first of the two acts, signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on July 2, 1862, was the impetus behind creating 69 of the nation’s land-grant institutions, including Texas A&M University. The act allowed for the creation of public colleges in the U.S. using the proceeds of federal land sales; education at these new institutions focused on agriculture, the mechanical arts and military training.

Morrill’s motivation was to provide expanded educational opportunities for a young and growing nation, particularly to members of the working class. He could not have known then the impact of his actions, but the Morrill Act changed the face of higher education in two significant ways: It was the first time the federal government became directly involved in supporting higher education, which set a precedent for continued government aid. Second, it effectively made higher education available to the general public for the first time. And whereas the focus of learning at the post-secondary level had previously concentrated on the classical arts, land-grant schools taught students the practical skills they needed in the working world.

More than 150 years later, the Morrill Act has proven to be an influential piece of legislation. It gave Texas A&M its land-grant legacy, and even today, the ‘A’ and ‘M’ remain in our university’s name as a symbolic homage to our land-grant roots.

More importantly, the land-grant designation laid the foundation for Texas A&M to become one of the first land-, sea- and space-grant universities by 1989—a distinction it shares today with only 16 other schools nationwide. This year, on the 30th anniversary of this achievement, we dedicated this issue’s cover feature to highlighting 12 ways Texas A&M programs and researchers are fulfilling the university’s land-, sea- and space-grant missions. We hope it gives you a diverse look at some of the ways Aggies are exploring new frontiers, conducting public outreach and serving the national good.

As you read, give a quick “Thanks and Gig ’em” to Justin Morrill—the gentleman who helped us, and so many other universities, begin a legacy.