Land-Grant History
Mission Statement
The Land-Grant Campus of the Southern University and A&M College System embraces a mission consistent with the University's tripartite mission of teaching, research, and extension/public service. Our land-grant role is to educate, train and mentor a cadre of highly skilled students and professionals to prepare them for a highly technological and globalized workforce. To effectively serve the agricultural and food science industry, we conduct basic and applied research and disseminate information statewide. This allows us to better serve the citizens of Louisiana in a manner that is useful in addressing their scientific, technological, social, economic and cultural needs and enhance their overall quality of life.
Our History, Our Future
Southern University opened its doors in 1880 in New Orleans, Louisiana, with 12 students, five faculty members and a budget totalling $10,000. in 1914, the University was relocated to Louisiana's capital city - Baton Rouge. The Southern University and A&M College System was created by the state legislature under the management of the Southern University Board of Supervisors. The University expanded to other cities in the state, establishing Southern University, New Orleans (SUNO), Southern University Shreveport (SUSLA), the Southern University Law Center and the Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center (SUAREC). The Southern University Ag Center was established on July 1, 2001 out of the need to enhance the impact of our land-grant programs on the citizenry of the state of Louisiana. The mission of the Center is to conduct basic and applied research and disseminate information to the citizens of Louisiana in a manner that is essential in addressing their scientific, technological, social, economic and cultural needs of its clientele. SUAREC encompasses the Center for Small Farm Research, which was established in 1983, the Cooperative Extension Program, the SU Livestock Show and its state-of -the-art arena with a 385-acre agricultural research experiment station and the Southwest Center for Rural Initiatives, a satellite entity located in Opelousas. In recent years, the College of Agricultural, Human and Environmental Sciences at Southern University in Baton Rouge has been relinked to the Southern University Ag Center with an inaugural Chancellor-Dean taking office effective September 1, 2016. In the near future, a potential acquisition of more than 400 acres of land from the former Jetson Center for Youth will be formalized making it part of the Southern University Agricultural Experiment Station. The College of Agriculture, Agricultural Research and Cooperative Extension are now under one management and will be commonly known as the Land-Grant Campus focusing on teaching, research and extension to fulfill its statewide land-grant mission.