FROM THE GROUND UP – 100 YEARS
OF AGRONOMIC EXCELLENCE
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the
Department of Soil and Crop Sciences
The seminal root of the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences was initiated in 1879 when the “Colorado Agricultural College” was organized. At that time the entire College consisted of four faculty members. In 1887, with the passage of the Hatch Act by the US Congress, the Agricultural Experiment Station at Colorado Agricultural College was organized in 1888 with funding of $15,000 from the US Treasury. Also in 1888, the Colorado General Assembly provided funding to start two branch experiment stations; one in the San Luis Valley near Center and one in the Arkansas Valley near Rocky Ford, in addition to the main Experimental Station in Fort Collins. From 1888 to 1909 “Agronomy” research and teaching was conducted by the College’s Department of Agriculture and the Extension activities were carried out by Experiment Station personnel.
In 1909 the Department of Agriculture was reorganized, and the Departments of Agronomy, Animal Husbandry and Farm Mechanics were initiated. A year later the one instructor in the Farm Mechanics Department departed and that discipline was transferred to the Department of Agronomy. Alvin Keyser (later changed to Kezer) became the first Department Head in 1909 and served in that capacity for 36 years until 1946. Subsequent Department Heads were Scotty Robertson (1946 – 1959), Robert Whitney (1959- 1975), Wayne Keim (1975 – 1985), Lee Sommers (1985 – 1996), Jim Quick (1996 – 2003), and Gary Peterson (2003 – present). From the humble beginnings of the Department of Agronomy with two faculty in 1909 (Alvin Kezer – Administration, Crops and Soils and D. W. Frear - Crops and Soils) the Department has evolved into a vibrant, comprehensive department today with 24 research, teaching and extension faculty on campus and four at Branch Experiment Stations, 28 Research Associates/Staff and 40 graduate students. The breadth of teaching, research and extension activities in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences (name changed from Agronomy to Soil and Crop Sciences in 1994) ranges from basic genomics to production agriculture research, teaching and extension. Our goal is to serve the students and other clientele of Colorado, the nation and the world. Our faculty members are dedicated to their work and strive to make advances in science, teaching and technology transfer that benefit society.
