Two University of Minnesota leaders, wearing full academic regalia, will participate in a national ceremony Monday marking the 150th anniversary of the Morrill Act, which led to the establishment of public, land-grant universities.

University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler and Lendley Black, chancellor of the Duluth campus, will be among more than 75 college presidents to participate in wreath-laying at Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

The program also notes a brass quintet, a presentation of colors and speeches by folks including Ralph Cicerone, president of the National Academy of Sciences. It's part of a conference at the Library of Congress, sponsored by Carnegie Corporation of New York.

The University of Minnesota has been doing its own celebrating of the Morrill Act this year, through lectures and events.

At a Board of Regents meeting this spring, Regent Dean Johnson asked Kaler how he would rewrite the Morrill Act today, if given the opportunity.

"I would not change a single word," Kaler said.