page_title: Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences / History
caption_attribution_description: English: One of the oldest structure at the institute, originally called as engineering building, now houses Registrar and Finance office. The institute water tank is seen in the background.
context_page_description: Sam Higginbottom University of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences, formerly Allahabad Agricultural Institute, is an aided state agriculture university in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. It operates as an autonomous Christian minority institution under the 'Sam Higginbottom Educational and Charitable Society, Allahabad'.
  It was established in 1910 by Dr. Sam Higginbottom as "Allahabad Agricultural Institute" to improve the economic status of the rural population. In 1942, it became the first institute in India to offer a degree in Agricultural Engineering.
  In December 2016, the Uttar Pradesh State cabinet announced their decision to elevate the institution from the status of Deemed University to full-fledged University by passing the SHUATS Act operational from 29 December 2016, thus renaming it to SHUATS.
  As a tribute to its founder, the institution submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2009 to rename Allahabad Agricultural Institute as Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture, Technology and Sciences.
context_section_description: The institute was established by Dr. Sam Higginbottom, an English-born Presbyterian missionary in 1910 as a Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension of Ewing Christian College, Allahabad. The institute was declared as a separate entity from the college in 1918. The Department of Animal Husbandry was the first department of the institute established in 1924. It was an important landmark in the history of dairy training in India as the admission to the first batch of Indian Diploma in Dairying (IDD) was conducted here. After a meeting in Banaras, Dr. Higginbottom and Mahatma Gandhi became friends and started exchanging letters on issues, such as agriculture, poverty alleviation and rural economy. Gandhiji visited the institute in 1929 and sought his advice on several occasions. In the 1930s, the institute was supported by Harvard-Yenching Institute to expand its teaching and research programme in agricultural sciences. About the same time the institute was recognized by the government for a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture science and became affiliated with the University of Allahabad. Another landmark came in 1942, when it became the pioneer institute to offer an Agricultural Engineering degree in India. In November 1947, the institute was brought under an independent "Board of Directors of the Allahabad Agricultural Institute" which was sponsored as an ecumenical body by a number of churches and missions. During this phase the institute was taken up by Arthur T. Mosher, and he is largely credited with major expansion of infrastructure and the introduction of famous "Jamuna Par Punar Yojna", the extension project of recruiting workers at the village level.
  Between 1950 and 1957 Albert Mayer, an American architect, was assigned for developing the major buildings of the institute. In 1951, Ford Foundation granted $940,000 to the institute for carrying out the research and development projects. In 1952, the University of Illinois signed a contract with United States Agency for International Development for assisting the institute in improving its educational programs. Between 1950 and 1980, John B. Chitamber led the institute successfully and made Agricultural extension a very well known programme of the institute. To obtain more academic freedom and to strengthen its research and extension programmes, a proposal was submitted to the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development in August 1994, that the institute be granted the status of a deemed university. The institute was conferred the same on 15 March 2000 and Dr. Rajendra B. Lal was appointed as the first vice-chancellor of the university.
caption: Old Engineering Building of the institute, an antiquated water tank can be seen in the background
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