03/30/1998

Ag Engineering Building Named for Tom Corley

AUBURN, Ala. - In September 1939, Tom Edward Corley enrolled in a new undergraduate curriculum at Auburn--Agricultural Engineering. His first class was in the AU campus' newest building, the Ag Engineering Building. On March 27, 1998, that building, modernized in 1984, was officially named the Tom E. Corley Building.

Tom and his wife of nearly 50 years, Mary, and many family members were on hand for the ceremony, which featured remarks by Auburn University President Bill Muse and Board of Trustee member, Dr. Emory Cunningham.

The Ag Engineering Program at Auburn goes back to the 1920s. The Department had an active graduate program and conducted pioneering research in the area of rural electrification and agricultural mechanization. Up until 1939, however, there was no undergraduate degree offered in Agricultural Engineering.

Tom graduated from Auburn with a degree in this new curriculum just in time to sign up, go through a brief training period, and head to Europe to fight in World War II. He returned to Auburn in 1946 as a captain in the U.S. Army and earned a master's degree in Ag Engineering in 1948.

In 1948, Tom began his career at Auburn as an assistant professor of Ag Engineering. He conducted pioneering work in the area of cotton mechanization. His work provided many of the technological breakthroughs necessary to move from virtually all hand picking to all mechanical harvesting of cotton. He advanced through the ranks from associate professor to professor, and in 1966, he was called on reorganize the outlying research system of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.

In 1984, Tom retired from Auburn University as an Associate Director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station. He has been active in many civic activities, but is probably best known for his contributions to the beautification of the city and campus. After his retirement, Tom moved and rebuilt a 1800s log cabin on his 18 acre tract of land west of Auburn. An avid gardener, Tom has turned his retirement retreat into garden spot with native azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons. Many of these plants have found their way into urban landscapes throughout the world.

The building that now bears his name, little resembles the building in which Tom had one his first classes at AU. A modernization and renovation program in 1984, equipped the department with modern labs, classrooms and office space.

The Ag Engineering curricula also bears little resemblance to the course of study from which Tom graduated in 1943. In 1978, a forest engineering major was establish within the Department, and ironically Frank Corley, Tom's nephew, was the first to graduate in this curriculum.

Based on the many changes in the Ag Engineering curriculum and the demand for more diversified graduates in the future, the Department, former students, and supporters from around the world joined in recommended a new name for the Department.

The new name, The Department of Biosystems Engineering more accurately reflect the future demand for engineers in the diverse fields of food safety, environmental and natural resource management, and forest engineering. The name change in currently being considered by the AU Board of Trustees.

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News from:

Office of Ag Communications & Marketing

Auburn University College of Agriculture
Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station
3 Comer Hall, Auburn University
Auburn, AL 36849
334-844-4877 (PHONE) 334-844-5892 (FAX)

Contact Jamie Creamer, 334-844-2783 or jcreamer@auburn.edu
by Roy Roberson

03/30/98