A frequent complaint on social media is critical of higher education and urges people to support spending more of the money the government sends to higher ed on tech schools. These messages are misguided because the grant money that catches the public’s attention is typically focused on research, rather than tuition. Aside from this misunderstanding, I react to the claim that higher ed is not about practical or productive things.
This time of year we often visit apple orchards. When in the Twin Cities, our home, we try to make at least one trip to the University of Minnesota Apple Store. The U of M is a land-grant institution and has agriculture as a core mission. As an urban campus, this might surprise some citizens and even students because the main campus and the ag campus are in different locations (different twin cities).
My own education was completed at a land grant university (Iowa State), and I grew up on a farm, so I have some affection for this mission. I admit I had not really appreciated this role at the U of M until we moved here. Agriculture can involve many different things, and agricultural colleges often have unexpected areas of specialization. Among the specializations at the U of M is horticulture and, more specifically, apples. The Honeycrisp apple, possibly the most popular apple in production now, was developed here.
No, these apples are not sold here at bargain prices, but we were able to purchase slightly imperfect ones at a lower price.
I always wonder what it would be like to take classes in that department.