Land Grant Colleges

Cooperative Extension was created through a series of acts by the federal government dating back to 1862 when the Morrill act established land-grant colleges. The Morrill act of 1890 was later added to bolster this work by adding Black colleges.

The Smith-Lever act of 1914 put more muscle behind the land-grant colleges by providing public land for the establishment of at least one college per state. This system of land-grant universities was intended to provide branches of learning with no supervision from the federal government, thus creating the outreach system called Cooperative Extension available in every county throughout this Commonwealth and the nation. 

Today, Cooperative Extension has further developed to assist with many aspects of our lives. The focus of Extension has expanded from rural applications to significant programming in metropolitan communities addressing issues of adults and youth of all backgrounds. The extensive urbanization of our nation begged for expansion of the original intent of Cooperative Extension to instruct youth in non-traditional areas and to offer adult programs in nutrition, family finance, child rearing and a host of topics relevant to living in what has become a high-tech, metropolitan world.

Cooperative Extension of Allegheny County is proud to be an innovator and leader in the mission of Penn State University, Pennsylvania's historic land-grant college.

Mission Statement