Pioneer in pasture improvement, respected judge and 40 year career at what is now the University of Connecticut.
1876-1968 | Artist: Othmar J. Hoffler (1893-1954)
Impact & Accomplishments
Born in Wolcott, Connecticut, Harry Lucien Garrigus completed his studies at Storrs Agricultural College in 1898. Soon after, he was named director of the experiment station there, and in 1901, he joined the faculty. His career spanned forty years at the institution, which would eventually be renamed the University of Connecticut.
Professor Garrigus formed the Department of Animal Husbandry and served as superintendent of the college farm. He selected the finest stock for the school’s herds and conducted studies in genetic selection and nutrition. Garrigus was a respected judge of many exhibitions, including the International and the American Royal. He was a pioneer in pasture improvement as well.
In 1968, H. L. Garrigus was named a fellow of the American Society of Animal Science. He was a trustee of the Eastern States Exposition and was also active in many breed organizations.
Did You Know?
During the years after his graduation from Storrs Agricultural College in 1897, Harry L. Garrigus became an instructor of animal husbandry, bought and sold cattle and horses in order to grow the College's herd, and arranged for titles on properties adjacent to the College to be held in trust until the state could afford to buy them, expanding the College's holdings from about 300 acres to more than 1,500.
Hay Piles, Agricultural Experiment with Fertilizer. By Harry Garrigus. From the Harry L. Garrigus Photograph Collection; University of Connecticut Photograph Collection. 1897–1912
In 2006, in honor of the University of Connecticut's 125th anniversary, Garrigus' name will be attached to Hilltop Suites, a five-story residence hall at the crest of Alumni Drive that overlooks the East Campus agricultural buildings and fields he was so fond of at the turn of the 20th century.