a high demand for an all-round education grounded in the liberal arts tradition instead of a specialized agriculture program, a fact the board disregarded. With a sharp decrease in tuition revenue, the college was soon in dire financial straits and threatened with dissolution.
In 1860, Williams became acting lieutenant governor and helped pass the Reorganization Act of 1861. This restored the college's four-year curriculum and gave the college the power to grant master's degrees. Under the act, a newly created body, known as the State Board of Agriculture, took over from the State Board of Education in running the institution. The college changed its name to State Agricultural College, and its first class graduated in the same year.
In 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Land-Grant Acts to support similar colleges nationally, the first instance of federal funding for education. Shortly thereafter, on March 18, 1863, the state designated the college its land-grant institution making Michigan State …
