Nancy Cox, retired vice president for land grant engagement at the University of Kentucky and previous dean of the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, recently delivered the prestigious 2025 William Henry Hatch Memorial Lecture at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) annual meeting.

This year’s lecture commemorated the vision of Congressman William Henry Hatch, who championed the Agricultural Experiment Station Founding Bill. In addition, it celebrates the Experiment Station System’s accomplishments, which the Hatch Act of 1887 created. Considered to be a cornerstone of agricultural innovation, the Hatch Act enables researchers to conduct studies and recommend new practices that improve farming productivity and address challenges.

Each year, the William Henry Hatch Memorial Lectureship selects a speaker who is a well-respected leader in agriculture research within the Land-grant University System. Cox was recognized for her 40 years of service to the agricultural industry through education, Extension, innovation, research and leading initiatives to improve the lives of people, producers and farmers in Kentucky and beyond.

“It was an honor to deliver this year’s William Henry Hatch Memorial Lecture,” Cox said. “Congressman Hatch had a simple brilliance about him — creating state and federal partnerships by which land-grants impact the national interest by first serving their states’ individual needs. Thanks to Congressman Hatch, we have a robust research system today anchored by Hatch and other similar capacity funds.”

Cox’s presentation was titled “The Hatch Act of 1887: Central to a Robust System Facing Challenges to its Relevance.” While Hatch’s history and his impact on agricultural research was highlighted, Cox wanted to leave the audience with a few key takeaways.

Hatch was a Kentuckian whose idea revolutionized agricultural research

Cox wanted to emphasize that Hatch was first a Kentuckian along with another historical figure.

“Mr. Hatch was a son of Kentucky,” Cox said. “We [in Kentucky] claim Abraham Lincoln, too.”

Serving as a Congressman from 1879-1895, Hatch believed that conducting original agricultural research to support the agricultural industry was paramount. The Hatch Act of 1887 provided funding and established agricultural Experiment Stations at land-grant institutions, like the University of Kentucky. Today, Experiment Stations and their branches cover most of the US.  

Hatch's impact on agricultural research is felt everywhere, according to Cox. Furthermore, how the funding is spent remains critical.

“One blessing is that the Experiment Station director decides what is funded,” Cox said. “From initial funding, Hatch funds have grown due to congressional appropriations and are the cornerstone of research productivity for the Experiment Station system as well as the Cooperative Extension system. At UK, we say that Hatch touches nearly every research project in some way.”

Higher education is being asked to be problem-solvers

Cox pointed to data by the USDA indicating that the investment in public agricultural research and development has essentially been declining since 2000. In addition, Cox cited data that suggests public confidence in higher education has been declining.

“I believe this data suggests that higher education is starting to lose relevance, and land grants are being asked to become more relevant,” Cox said. “Even though we [land-grant institutions] are not the entire problem, we are being asked to solve the problem.”

Cox believes that the future is still very bright.

“There’s hope for the land-grant university system,” Cox said. “We need to double down on engagement and communication. We need to communicate more as peers and showing that we care, which we all do.”

Moving from what we do, to WHY we do

Cox believes that land-grant institutions are informing people about what they are doing to advance agricultural research, but it must go further than that.

“We need to continue and accelerate successful engagement efforts, creating more community with all the land grant partners,” Cox said. “We need to develop communication strategies that reflect the ‘why’ as well as what we do for the public. For instance, how can we inform and inspire more people about why our research is relevant to everyday lives? Let’s share that story.”

For Cox, this will require that university leaders, governing boards and Congress all work together and continue to have “an ongoing national conversation about the relevancy of higher education.”

Cox was the 45th lecturer in the NIFA/APLU Memorial Lecture Series, which began in 1980.

To learn more, visit https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/partnerships/nifa-aplu-memorial-lecture.

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Writer: Christopher Carney, Christopher.Carney@uky.edu 
 

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