Potential Unexplored

Established by the Morrill Act of 1862, Land-Grant Institutions (LGIs) use research, teaching, and outreach to better serve the people of their home states and, by extension, a developing nation. Reflecting their rural settings, LGIs were originally created to teach and research agriculture, mechanical arts, and military tactics. LGI faculty responsibilities for teaching and researching music and serving the state population are now less clear. This chapter begins with a historical summary of LGIs and interpretations of their mission statements. A second section explores related political, economic, and geographic issues, revealing ways that faculty have both met and failed to meet the LGI mission at one example institution, West Virginia University. This chapter concludes with recommendations for faculty at LGIs and other institutions to navigate rural community engagement for the advancement of music education nationwide.