Justin Morrill, a Statesman from Vermont, is inducted for his leadership in legislation that established U.S. Land-Grant Colleges.

The son a blacksmith, Morrill was reared and educated in Vermont before he was elected to represent his state in the U.S. House in 1855. He was later voted into the U.S. Senate in 1867.

In 1857, he introduced the first bill to cede public lands for agricultural and mechanical colleges. A second bill was passed and signed into law on July 2, 1862, by President Abraham Lincoln. He continued to support land-grant colleges by introducing related bills in 1872 and 1890.

The Land-Grant College Act of 1862 granted thirty thousand acres of public land to each U.S. Senator and Representative for the purpose of establishing colleges dedicated to the instruction and training of agricultural and mechanical topics.

His commitment to the land-grant college movement is commemorated by his name on college campus buildings throughout the nation. He served as Trustee of the University of Vermont for thirty-three years.