Sponsors - Texas Sea Grant: Fill & Download for Free

UT Austin is the central Texas home of higher education and is rivaled by many but overshadowed by few or none.The Forty acresThe acre came into use during the Middle Ages and was defined as the amount of land that could be ploughed in one day by one man and an ox. Unless you grew up on a preindustrial farm, that won’t mean much to you. An acre is about 75 percent of a football field or the combined size of 16 tennis courts.The nickname is a big part of campus culture. Forty Acres Fest is a campus-wide festival each spring featuring more than 100 student organizations, entertainment, food, music and games. UT’s most prestigious scholarships, the Forty Acres Scholarships, are jointly sponsored by the university’s alumni association, the Texas Exes, and our various schools and colleges. For many decades, the shuttle bus that circled the original Forty Acres plus what is now known as “central campus” was “the 40.” When the city’s bus service absorbed the UT shuttle bus system, the route became “the 640,” which you can catch today.1928: A class change, as seen from the top floor of Garrison Hall. That's Battle Hall across the way, and the old Main Building on the right. A decade later, this spot would be transformed with the creation of the Main Mall and UT Tower.Now, UT’s main campus comprises 431 acres, with a perimeter of more than 4 miles, stretching from 15th to 30th streets and from office space in the West Campus neighborhood to Manor Road east of Interstate 35.But that’s just the main campus. The university’s J.J. Pickle Research Campus in North Austin is actually bigger than the main campus, at 475 acres. UT’s Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Southwest Austin adds another 284 acres. And the university’s Brackenridge Tract, including field laboratories, stretches for 350 acres along Lake Austin.Summer 1916: A view up University Avenue to the UT campus. With Old Main in the center (where the Tower stands today).But that’s just in Austin. UT’s McDonald Observatory in West Texas? That’s another 400 acres. Our Marine Science Institute in Port Aransas? There’s another 72 acres, with a 5-acre boat basin, and UTMSI manages the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve, which totals 186,189 acres.Those “Forty Acres” are now in the thousands. Looks like you’ve got some exploring to do.A land-grant university (also called land-grant college or land-grant institution) is an institution of higher education in the United States designated by a state to receive the benefits of the Morrill Acts of 1862 and 1890.The Morrill Acts funded educational institutions by granting federally controlled land to the states for them to sell, to raise funds, to establish and endow "land-grant" colleges. The mission of these institutions as set forth in the 1862 Act is to focus on the teaching of practical agriculture, science, military science, and engineering (though "without excluding... classical studies"), as a response to the industrial revolution and changing social class. This mission was in contrast to the historic practice of higher education to focus on a liberal arts curriculum. A 1994 expansion gave land grant status to several tribal colleges and universities.Ultimately, most land-grant colleges became large public universities that today offer a full spectrum of educational opportunities. However, some land-grant colleges are private schools, including Cornell University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Tuskegee University.The concept of publicly funded agricultural and technical educational institutions first rose to national attention through the efforts of Jonathan Baldwin Turner in the late 1840s. The first land-grant bill was introduced in Congress by Representative Justin Smith Morrill of Vermont in 1857. The bill passed in 1859, but was vetoed by President James Buchanan.Morrill resubmitted his bill in 1861, and it was ultimately enacted into law in 1862.Upon passage of the federal land-grant law in 1862, Iowa was the first state legislature to accept the provisions of the Morrill Act, on September 11, 1862. Iowa subsequently designated the State Agricultural College (now Iowa State University) as the land grant college on March 29, 1864. The first land-grant institution actually created under the Act was Kansas State University, which was established on February 16, 1863, and opened on September 2, 1863. The oldest school that currently holds land-grant status is Rutgers University, founded in 1766 and designated the land-grant college of New Jersey in 1864. The oldest school to ever hold land-grant status was Yale University (founded in 1701), which was named Connecticut's land-grant recipient in 1863. This designation was later stripped by the Connecticut legislature in 1893 under populist pressure and transferred to what would become the University of Connecticut.A second Morrill Act was passed in 1890, aimed at the former Confederate states. This act required each state to show that race was not an admissions criterion, or else to designate a separate land-grant institution for persons of color. Among the seventy colleges and universities which eventually evolved from the Morrill Acts are several of today's historically black colleges and universities. Though the 1890 Act granted cash instead of land, it granted colleges under that act the same legal standing as the 1862 Act colleges; hence the term "land-grant college" properly applies to both groups.Later on, other colleges such as the University of the District of Columbia and the "1994 land-grant colleges" for Native Americans were also awarded cash by Congress in lieu of land to achieve "land-grant" status.In imitation of the land-grant colleges' focus on agricultural and mechanical research, Congress later established programs of sea grant colleges (aquatic research, in 1966), space grant colleges (space research, in 1988), and sun grant colleges (sustainable energy research, in 2003).West Virginia State University, a historically black university, is the only current land-grant university to have lost land-grant status (when desegregation cost it its state funding in 1957) and then subsequently regained it, which happened in 2001.The land-grant college system has been seen as a major contributor in the faster growth rate of the US economy that led to its overtaking the United Kingdom as economic superpower, according to research by faculty from the State University of New York.The three-part mission of the land-grant university continues to evolve in the twenty-first century. What originally was described as teaching, research, and service was renamed learning, discovery, and engagement by the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities, and again recast as talent, innovation, and place by the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities.State law precedentsPrior to enactment of the Morrill Act in 1862, Michigan State University was chartered under Michigan state law as a state agricultural land-grant institution on February 12, 1855, as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, receiving an appropriation of 14,000 acres (57 km2) of state-owned land. The Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, later to become The Pennsylvania State University, followed as a state agricultural land-grant school on February 22 of that year.Michigan State and Penn State were subsequently designated as the federal land-grant colleges for their states in 1863.Older state universities – such as the University of Georgia, which was established with a grant of land in 1784 – were also funded through the use of state land grants. Indeed, land grants to educational institutions are a practice inherited from Europe, and are traceable all the way back to the societies ofThese earlier examples, however, offered a different "mission" than the practical education offered by land-grant institutions established under the Morrill Act (or the Michigan legislature).Hatch Act and Smith–Lever ActThe mission of the land-grant universities was expanded by the Hatch Act of 1887, which provided federal funds to states to establish a series of agricultural experiment stationsunder the direction of each state's land-grant college, as well as pass along new information, especially in the areas of soil minerals and plant growth. The outreach mission was further expanded by the Smith–Lever Act of 1914 to include cooperative extension—the sending of agents into rural areas to help bring the results of agricultural research to the end users. Beyond the original land grants, each land-grant college receives annual Federal appropriations for research and extension work on the condition that those funds are matched by state funds.ExpansionWhile today's land-grant universities were initially known as land-grant colleges, only a few of the more than 70 institutions that developed from the Morrill Acts retain "College" in their official names; most are universities.The University of the District of Columbia received land-grant status in 1967 and a $7.24 million endowment (USD) in lieu of a land grant. In a 1972 Special Education Amendment, American Samoa, Guam, Micronesia, Northern Marianas, and the Virgin Islands each received $3 million.In 1994, 29 tribal colleges and universities became land-grant institutions under the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994. As of 2008, 32 tribal colleges and universities have land-grant status. Most of these colleges grant two-year degrees. Six are four-year institutions, and two offer a master's degree.Land-grant universities are not to be confused with sea grant colleges (a program instituted in 1966), space grant colleges (instituted in 1988), or sun grant colleges (instituted in 2003). In some states, the land-grant missions for agricultural research and extension have been relegated to a statewide agency of the university system rather than the original land-grant campus; an example is the Texas A&M University System, whose agricultural missions, including the agricultural college at the system's main campus, are now under the umbrella of Texas A&M AgriLife.

Anthropology suggests strongly that there were waves of migration across from Siberia to America and through to South America. Some humans may have reached America and South America by sea, such as the Australian Aboriginal DNA found in the far south of South America, among the native Indians.In this scenario the most likely outcome would have been colonization from an alternate European naval country. France made it to Quebec and Canada, Spain colonized Cuba, the Caribbean and much of South America, Portugal in Brazil and other colonies.The initial American colonies formed from Britain were largely protestants escaping persecution and seeking a new world. The Native Indians migrated largely from Mongolia and China and similar tribal nomadic life as in Mongolia. If the colonizers had not come from Britain and England, they may come from other European nations. China is thought to have sent a fleet of large exploration with horses to California with large anchor stones found along that coastline. This hints that horses and Chinese settlers may have come from China and when left to their own devices integrated and become part of the “Indian” tribes of the Western Coast of America. This is highly plausible.The Native Indian tribes lived in similar hide style wigwams as in Mongolia and other areas in China, they had excellent bow and arrow techniques, they often lived nomadic lifestyle, used leather and bone craft as central to their culture. Similar worship of ancestors and stories of the afterlife.In other words, it was the “Asian” ancestors of the Native Indians from Mongolia, who likely migrated south during the long ice ages which allowed short distances over water through the Alaskan archepeligo, and eventually by sea or land migrating south and becoming the Mayan and Incan civilizations.Chinese settlers came during dynastic times and these settlers were integrated into the assorted tribes on the West Coast. Some Pacific Islanders, Melanesians and polynesians alsoi integrated into Native American tribes. So the European settlers were at the end of several waves of migration.European settlers brought new agriculture techniques, horses and cows and other European livestock and began to establish towns and trading posts. When better ships were available and the route to the America’s was clearly established the great migrations of Europeans began and overwhelmed many of the Native tribal peoples. Some intermarried and became part of the American diaspora.European powers carved out settlements and colonies in the Americas, in Africa and the Pacific and the Middle East, and the success of these administrations and colonial outposts varied. The English, Spanish, Portugese, Dutch, the French were particularly effective colonizers. The Germans, Russians were later to see the benefits of colonizing the new world.Effectively in History China and Mongolia, colonized Japan, Tibet, Nepal and Siberia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Japan and the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia. These colonists over time integrated with local peoples and created their own racial and cultural identities. It would be wrong to suggest that colonization did not occur through-out Asia.Colonialization occurred through every major civilization where the history is recorded, including in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Burma etc.What happened if one particular colonial power did not settle a region, the answer is they would quickly be usurped by another competitor. Only Antarctica, and small inhabited islands have not been affected by waves of migration or colonization. In the normal course of events initially there is a strong cultural identity and separation between colonizer and colonized, over time through marriage and integration the colony develops its own creole identity, look at Mexico compared to Spain, Vietnam compared to China, Japan compared to China……………eventually the colony sees themselves as an independent identity and separate from the mother or sponsor country, ethnic and cultural diversification means they no longer identify with the colonizer. There may be exceptions to this. Some “Native” cultures have determined to keep their original identity and have not fully integrated into the mainstream culture.Over time like the Malays, Indonesians, Philippines, and Mexico, the creole peoples over time develop their own identity and culture which has some elements of the original culture, the colonizers culture and their own home grown cultural identity.In America over 40% of the original migrants before world war two were of German ancestry, and there were debates in some states as to whether they would make German the official language in the state. So i would presuppose that Germany would have been the most likely nation to have stepped into the void had Britain lost interest in or become separated earlier from the colonies that became the USA. Alternatively each state could have had a particular European sponsor, with Mexico and Spain in Texas and California, France on the East Coast, and Germany in some other States. The “United States” would then have had a larger diaspora of cultural origins.

1. Have a relative that is a US citizen and qualify for family re-unification immigrant status - Might have to wait for 10 years for the application to be completed.2. Marry a US citizen, with love, commitment and survive at least 2 years and pass the immigration test that it is not a marriage of convenience.3. Study at a US college, get an advanced degree (Masters) and find a job where the employer will apply for HI-B, continue for 4 years and then apply for permanent resident green card.4. Emigrate to Canada ( with a high-scoring skill), wait 4 years, become a Canadian citizen, get a Job as a specific professional category in the USA under treaty NAFTA, get TN-1 work visa and apply for a green card permanent resident status.5. Have $500,000 to a $ 1 Million as an Investor, with the view to set up a company in the USA, employ at least 10 US citizens for at least 2 years ( so you probably need to have at least $5million USD available to make that work. )Apply to be made a permanent resident before the end of the 2 years.6. Apply for and win a slot of the US Diversity Permanent Resident Green Card Lottery.5. Come as a person of international renown - like a famous actor, singer, musician, Sports person especially in an Olympic sport or for an American Professional Sport club (Basketball, Baseball, American Football), Nobel Prize winner or innovative inventor, as America likes 'winners' and famous people.6. Try for the small amount of Professional H1-B work visas if you have an employer that would sponsor that, wait 4 years and apply for Permanent Resident/Green Card. (Update: as of June 24, 2020 this option is suspended until.the end of 2020, after a partial freeze started earlier related to the COVID-19 economic impact to the US economy, except in a few categories such as food supply, health and pharmaceutical specialist occupations.)That is all depending on the current Government, congress, and President not barring you because of Country of Origin, Religion - and you have some specific ability or talent. Additionally, the Immigration Law is one of the things that may get overhauled completely as President Trump has it on his to-do list.There may be a re-instatement of all visa applications being denied, revoked or halted from many countries including primarily Muslim Countries and terrorist supporting regimes.Also, if you do get to the USA somehow, you must not use any public funds (grants, unemployment or social security welfare) or commit any crime or be arrested or convicted of any violation of sometimes archaic and biased laws, where ignorance of the law is not a defense. It could be a pattern that some biased and bigoted law enforcement agencies may as well as harass you find some way to arrest and charge you for being not from the USA. The Statue of Liberty and the 'Bring your poor and tired masses' welcoming immigration to the USA is long gone, and if the Statue of Liberty could move I am sure that she would stomp north of the border and settle down off of Newfoundland, Canada!Some example of Obscure laws still valid in some states include :Do not cut down a Cactus in Arizona, otherwise 25 years in jail is the maximum penalty;Do not sell your eyeballs in Texas.Do not go fishing without checking and obtaining a fishing permit, particularly in Federal,State, County or City owned land or sea shore. (A Chinese couple, a customer of my wife for real estate, were deported for not obeying this law and lost their 'green cards'.)Do not sell a toothbrush as well as toothpaste to the same customer on a Sunday in Rhode Island.So the American Dream may only be a mirage, my friend, unless you have great luck and skill and patience !