Strategically Approaching the Future: 1890 Land-Grant System-Strategic Plan is the result of a two year effort by college and university presidents/chancellors, faculty and administrators to draw a detailed road map designed to guide a historically unique and significant group of campuses into a new and challenging century.

          Strategically Approaching the future empowers 18 black land-grant campuses-institutions founded between 1866 and 1912-to continue to help build and refine America's democracy by continuing their bold work of extending access and opportunity to a wide range  of students. 

"Black Land-grant colleges/universities create opportunity, add value to the society and define scholarship in ways that illuminate the underpinnings of discrimination. We educate the masses and enrich the lives of millions of students from all sectors of the social and economic spectrum. While America speaks with pride about the great diversity of higher education, the reality is that the 1890s have been the chief agents of social change. As we work together to clarify the mission, accountability, social responsibility and academic outcomes will become even more prominent as the highest standards of performance.          

          As economic instruments of the state, the nation and the world, 1890s serve as a vital force in the conduct of teaching, research and extension and public service. In keeping with the land-grant mission, the 1890s are committed to providing a  seamless network of resources and services through the creation of an "1890 Land-Grant System"-a mission-oriented, multifaceted system that serves as an indispensable adjunct to the American economy. This interconnected system will draw on the full spectrum of resources within the 1890 community and beyond, while expanding and creating new partnerships with socially and economically distressed communities and government, business and industry. Working together as a system, the 1890s will be more competitive in transforming the knowledge we produce into solutions designed to improve the quality of the life for all humankind. This 1890 strategic Plan also represents an integral part of our social and economic agenda, as African-Americans bargain for "a more perfect union" in the global arena of the 21st century and beyond."