This study reviews some selected characteristics of 907 institutes and centers in 51 Land Grant Universities in each of the 50 states and Puerto Rico. The institutes and centers discussed were all formally identified by specific names and titles in the Research Centers Directory and were established on a permanent basis as separate entities for carrying on continuing research programs. This report considered the number of centers in the universities and relates their number to the quality of the university, and found that institutes and centers usually exist in large, complex, multifunctional institutions oriented toward graduate and research activities. The report also reviews: (1) the growth patterns of the centers, (2) their areas of concentration, and (3) the location of these institutes and centers within the organizational structure of the universities. (AF)