Abstract

This paper was inspired by the intersection of Tom Lyson’s interest in how power is concentrated in society’s institutions and his concern for the role of the land-grant system in revealing and addressing inequities that occur as a result of such concentration. This study examines the power structure that governs land-grant universities by presenting social and demographic information on 635 trustees at the 50 US land-grant universities established by the Morrill Act of 1862. Along with these data, Fortune 1000 companies with which land-grant universities are connected through board member interlocks are listed and charted out. The research found that land-grant governing boards are characterized by some degree of demographic homogeneity, but they are less corporately interconnected than their private university counterparts