Five partnering land grant institutions lead the national Sun Grant Initiative while still providing a regional emphasis to Sun Grant programs. The five (5) Centers of Excellence include North Central Center at South Dakota State University, The Northeast Center at Cornell University, the South Eastern Center at University of Tennessee, the South Central Center at Oklahoma State University, and the Western Region Center at Oregon State University.

Today, Land Grant Institutions in the Northeast Region and throughout the country continue to lead the way in world agricultural research, education and outreach. As the face of agriculture has changed, the land grant institutions have evolved to meet the needs of the new frontiers, with tools such as molecular biology, genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and nanotechnology.

The Sun Grant Initiative expands the role of the land grant institutions to address the most recent change to the face of agriculture: new biomass and bioresource needs for energy, fuels and bioproducts. The land grant approach to the new bioresource needs are reflected in the inclusion of research, education and outreach activities in environmental quality, sustainability and renewable resources activities.

Click on a region to visit that center’s website.