Lee County Master Gardeners
hold quarterly meeting,
pot luck supper
at Tom and MaryCorley's Cabin
Loachapoka, Alabama
July 9, 2003

Tom Corley gives Lee County Master Gardeners a walking tour of his gardens

\\News

News Release
By: Roy Roberson
7/7/9

AU AGRICULTURAL LEADER TOM CORLEY WINS MOSLEY ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

    AUBURN, Ala. --Tom Corley, an ag engineer and former associate director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn University, was recently presented the prestigious W. Kelly Mosley Environmental Award for Achievements in Forestry, Wildlife, and Related Resources.

     Corley, and his wife, Mary, were cited for preserving an 1840s era log cabin and developing the surrounding 18-acre tract of land in an environmentally sound way. In presenting the award, AU Forestry Dean Richard Brinker noted that in addition to developing the land and cabin, the Corley's have made it available to visiting groups from all over the world.

    The 18 acres of eroding land, located near Loachapoka in east-central Alabama, was acquired by the Corley in 1964. First, he constructed a fish pond and then began planting and grafting camellias. He and friends have added native azaleas and rhododendrons, making the entire setting a true garden place.  Before he retired from Auburn University in 1984, Corley bought an 1840s-era log cabin and moved it over 50 miles board-by-board to his land. Tom Corley subsequently restored the log cabin and Mary Corley furnished it in 1840s style.

    The Mosley Environmental Award was established in 1979 in an attempt to get more people involved in the wise and creative use of natural resources. Winners of the award are selected by a screening committee of diverse leaders in the environmental community. Those selected for the award have undergone the scrutiny of top foresters, wildlife biologists and other environmental leaders, making this award among the most prestigious of its kind in the
world.

    Included in the award is a numbered print of Little River Canyon by Auburn artist William Baggett and a cash award. Corley was nominated for the award by long-time friend and colleague Dennis Rouse, former dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station.

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News Release
By Roy Roberson
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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Ed Williams
Professor (and Master Gardener)
Department of Communication and Journalism
Faculty adviser, The Auburn Plainsman
Auburn University

313 Tichenor Hall
Auburn University, Ala. 36849