State Reps. Jay Barnes and Joshua Peters said Wednesday they're working to boost the state's financial support for Lincoln University's federal land grant program.
Barnes, R-Jefferson City, and Peters, D-St. Louis, said Missouri government needs to begin addressing the historic shortfall that has prevented LU from leveraging its full amount of federal matching funds for agricultural research.
More than a century ago, the federal government designated both LU and the University of Missouri as land-grant universities - MU in 1862 and LU in 1890.
The federal laws were intended to create a system of colleges to educate the industrial class, the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities (APLU) explained in a September 2013 policy brief, and those schools have grown into today's system of comprehensive colleges and universities.
Over the years, the federal government has provided money for the land grant schools - but also required a state, or at least a non-federal source, to match the federal money. It also required the schools to have agricultural research programs.
Land grant schools also have extension programs that provide educational opportunities and information for people even if they're not students at the schools.
Lincoln and MU have a Cooperative Extension program and generally work on research programs that complement each other rather than duplicating projects.
MU's state match is a part of its core funding in the state budget. But, historically, LU's match has been an additional line-item not carried over from one year to the next.
The state can match up to nearly $7 million for Lincoln to receive a like amount of federal funds, advancing agricultural research and extension under the 1890 Land Grant Act that expanded the land grant program to a number of historically black colleges and universities around the country.
"Lincoln University is our state's most diverse institution and performs agricultural research that is vital to rural Missouri," said Peters, an LU graduate. "It is well past time for Lincoln to be treated fairly and receive its full land grant appropriation."
For the current business year, however, the state appropriation is just $1.4 million in matching funds for Lincoln, leaving a $5.6 million shortfall.
Last year, the Legislature provided a $500,000 boost to Lincoln's land grant funding with the help and support of Rep. Donna Lichtenegger, R-Jackson, who chairs the House Higher Education Appropriations Committee.
But Gov. Jay Nixon's proposed budget for the 2016-17 business year, which begins July 1, included no increase in this funding for Lincoln.
"It's disappointing that Gov. Nixon would ignore this opportunity for agricultural research in our state," Barnes said. "Agriculture is Missouri's number one industry and job producer.
"We hope to make substantial progress in closing the funding gap in the upcoming budget so that Missouri farmers can enjoy the full benefit of Lincoln's land grant status."