Morrill Act Conference – Oct. 23-24, 2009
“Lincoln’s Unfinished Work: The Morrill Act and the Future of Higher Education”
October 23-24, 2009
University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana
Illini Union
1401 West Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and Dr. Sam Pitroda, advisor to the Prime Minister of India, joined a host of government leaders, presidents of public universities and Lincoln scholars on the campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to discuss the future of higher education in the United States. “Lincoln’s Unfinished Work: The Morrill Act and the Future of Higher Education” examined the lasting impact of the Morrill Act on our nation’s higher education system, the responsibility of public higher education to address the broader societal issues of the 21st century and discussed solutions aimed at preserving our country’s great public institutions and ensure access to quality higher education for all.
In conjunction with the conference, the original 1862 Morrill Act was brought to the university from the National Archives in Washington D.C.
The event was hosted by the ALBC and its Foundation, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities.
Key Note Speaker: U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Panelists include:
David von Drehle, TIME Magazine;
Dr. Bruce Levine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Dr. Peter Wallenstein, Virginia Tech;
Eileen Mackevich, executive director, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission;
Dr.Adam Green, University of Chicago;
Dr. Vernon Burton, Coastal Carolina University; professor emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Saturday, October 24:
Key Note Speakers:
Jim Leach, chair, National Endowment for the Humanities;
Dr. Sam Pitroda, advisor to the Indian Prime Minister, Cabinet Minister on Information, Infrastructure, and Innovation.
Panelists include:
Dr. Richard Herman, chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Eileen Mackevich, executive director, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission;
Dr. M. Peter McPherson, president, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU);
Dr. Bill DeLauder, president emeritus, Delaware State University, executive director, Commission on Abraham Lincoln Study Abroad Fellowship Program;
Stanley Ikenberry, interim president designate, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Molly Corbett Broad, president, American Council on Education (ACE);
Dr. Michelle Asha Cooper, president, Institute for Higher Education Policy;
Martha Kanter, under secretary, U.S. Department of Education;
Dr. William English “Brit” Kirwan, chancellor, University System of Maryland;
Dr. Charles Reed, chancellor, The California State University;
Ilesanmi Adesida, dean, College of Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Joel Cutcher-Gershenfeld, dean, School of Labor and Employment Relations, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Robert E. Easter, interim provost, vice chancellor for academic affairs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Wynne Sandra Korr, dean, School of Social Work, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Dr. John Unsworth, dean, Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Dr. Colien Hefferan, deputy director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture;
Dr. Robert F. Rich, director, Institute of Government and Public Affairs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign;
Dr. George Wright, president, Prairie View A&M University (Texas);
Dr. Peter Nardulli, director, Center for the Study of Democratic Governance, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
