It is widely noted that institutions of higher education have been impacted by neoliberal political ideologies, evidenced by the replacement of civic discourse with corporate discourse; however, there is limited empirical understanding to how this replacement has taken place, particularly in the context of universities which have been historically associated with economic purposes, such as the land-grant universities in the United States. In an effort to explore this methodological gap, this research undertakes a case study of a land-grant university and its identification of purpose and values over time. An application of critical discourse analysis to a sample of university documents suggests that the institution has adapted its discourse to fit within a neoliberal paradigm, rather than replacing civic discourse with market discourse. This research should be particularly useful to those who seek a longitudinal view of the influence of political ideologies in higher education, as well as those who would like to advocate for more nuanced and contextualized research in this area.