 On February 7 , 1865 , Andrew D. White introduced an act to the State Senate " to establish the Cornell University " , which appropriated the full income of the sale of lands given to New York under the Morrill Act to the university . But , while Cornell and White had come to an agreement , they faced fierce opposition , including from the People 's College in Havana , the Agricultural College at Ovid , and dozens of other institutions across the state vying for a share of the land grant funds ; from religious groups , who opposed the proposed composition of the university 's board of trustees ; and even from the secular press , some of whom thought Cornell was swindling the state out of its federal land grant . To placate legislators representing Ovid , White arranged for the Willard State Asylum for the Insane to be located on the land held for the Agricultural College . The bill limited the total amount of property or endowment that Cornell University could hold to $ 3 million . 
