The times they are a changing, and agricultural colleges must change with them, reports UC Davis chancellor emeritus James H. Meyer. In the recent study "Transforming the Land-Grant Colleges of Agriculture for the 21st Century," Meyer suggests that to keep pace with societal needs, agricultural colleges must alter the way they view and accomplish their missions. "The philosophy of 'teaching, research and outreach in service to the public' is even more important today than it was in 1862 when the land-grant college concept was established," says Meyer. "This nation's quality of life and even its survival depend on the availability of food and the safekeeping of the environment." Modern challenges include not only agricultural production, but also nutrition, food safety, and environmental issues, he stresses. "The essential mission of these colleges must be to promote a harmonic equilibrium between producing food for an ever-increasing world population and maintaining resilient ecosystems," says Meyer.