Merrill-Cazier Library. Special Collections & Archives

Utah State University is the state's land-grant institution. It was founded as the Utah Agricultural College in March 1888. It opened in September 1890. In 1929, the State legislature effected a name change to the Utah State Agricultural College, to better reflect the College's expanding role in the fields of teacher education, engineering and natural resources. In 1957, the research role of the institution was further emphasized when the College became Utah State University of Agriculture and Applied Science.

Research, combined with outreach (extension) and service, continues to define the land-grant mission of Utah State University. In 1938, the institution celebrated its semi-centennial, under the direction Professor Joel E. Ricks. Ricks authored A History of Fifty Years for the occasion.

In 1962, Professor Leonard J. Arrington began assembling material for a prospective history to commemorate the centennial of the Morrill Land Grant College Act. Although the history was never written, the collected materials comprised a wealth of research material for subsequent historians.

The institution marked its centennial in 1988, with additional research and writing. Professor A.J. Simmonds published a pictorial history of Utah State University entitled, Pictures Past, drawing upon his unparalleled institutional memory and the treasure of photographic evidence contained in University Archives.

From the guide to the Utah State University historical materials, 1890-2000, (Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives)