eDream has open sourced a digital film we produced to commemorate the Morrill Act of 1862, which democratized higher education in the United States through establishing land grant universities. In just over three minutes the piece draws upon archival images and contemporary video to trace the evolution of the great University of Illinois land-grant tradition from its earliest days to its future promise.

eDream's Morrill Act video was designed to serve as an inspiration for a national conference on higher education, Lincoln and the Morrill Act: The Unfinished Work of Public Universities, held on the campus of the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana from October 23-24, 2009.  The conference was a part of the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial celebration. It was organized by the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, the Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, and the Association of Land-Grant and Public Universities.

eDreamers Donna Cox, Jeff Carpeter, Madelin Woods, and Kelly Searsmith created the digital film in collaboration with Pradeep Khanna, Allison Kelly, and Megan Puzey of the Office of Public Engagement.