Upon becoming a land-grant institution in 1872, Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Auburn University), began offering courses in the study of agriculture. Several years later in 1883, agricultural research was initiated with the creation of the Agricultural Experiment Station, which was subsequently reorganized under the Hatch Act of 1887. Teaching and research functions of the college and the experiment station, respectively, have been administered jointly throughout most of the 20th century. Agricultural courses have been offered under the following divisions: the Department of Agriculture (1883-1909), the College of Agricultural Sciences (1909-1929), the School of Agriculture (1929-1980), the School of Agriculture, Forestry, and Biological Sciences (1980-1985), and the College of Agriculture (1985 to present).