WASHINGTON (June 27, 2012) -- On Monday, June 25, Secretary Richard W. Riley, a partner in Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP, was the keynote speaker at a wreath-laying ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. The ceremony celebrated President Abraham Lincoln's role in the passage of the Morrill Act of 1862 and the founding of the National Academy of Sciences the following year.  The Morrill Act, named after its sponsor, Senator Justin Morrill of Vermont, established the system of public and land-grant universities all across the United States. Secretary Riley remarked that "(T)his system democratized opportunity for Americans from all walks of life and from every corner of our nation."

Senator Morrill's bill was enacted by Congress but vetoed by the previous president.  However, "even in the midst of the Civil War," Secretary Riley commented, "President Lincoln dedicated himself to this cause.  Just as he had a vision of a nation that would be reunited . . . and would rise from conflict and calamity to meet the future with renewed strength, he also believed that the key to that promising future was education."

Secretary Riley urged all Americans to rekindle the faith and strength of President Lincoln by joining together in a spirit of bipartisanship to support and advance our investment in higher education – to widen access and increase affordability and deal with the many other issues that face our institutions and our students and families.

Established in 1897, Nelson Mullins has more than 430 attorneys and government relations professionals with offices in Atlanta, Boston, Nashville, Tallahassee, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., and throughout the Carolinas. For more information on the Firm, go to www.nelsonmullins.com, or call 803.255.9794.

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