Alvin R. Southard

Dr. Alvin R. Southard
1926 – 2018

Black and white photo of Alvin Southard wearing a suit and tie

Al’s interest in soils was sparked in early childhood by coal strip mining restoration efforts of the Civilian Conservation Corps to plant trees and build check dams across gullies to stop erosion. 

He was born in Centertown, KY, and spent his formative years near Beaver Dam, KY. After graduation from Beaver Dam High School in 1943, Al served in the US Army in Germany and Japan following World War II and during the Korean military action.

Al was attracted to the forestry and soils programs at Utah State Agricultural College and enrolled in 1953 in the Agronomy department to pursue the technical soils curriculum. He milked cows at the dairy farm on campus and mapped soils during the summer for the Weber and Cache soil surveys. Al completed the BS degree in 1957 and the MS degree in 1958, under the guidance of Dr. Ray Miller.  He was admitted to the PhD program at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, and moved his family to Freeville, NY, in 1958. During his PhD years, Al mapped soils in Fulton, Montgomery, and Schoharie counties and completed the PhD under the guidance of Dr. Marlin Cline in 1963.

Al’s first academic position, beginning in 1963, was as assistant professor at Montana State University in Bozeman.  He taught courses in soil genesis and classification and was the Montana Experiment Station representative to Cooperative Soil Survey efforts in Montana. Al was lured back to Utah State University in 1967 as associate professor in the Soil Science and Biometeorology department. He remained at USU until his retirement in 1989. During his tenure at USU, Al taught introductory soils and advanced courses in soil genesis and classification.  He mentored 4 PhD and 17 MS students, 11 of whom were international students, and served on many other graduate thesis and dissertation committees.  Al capped his career at USU as department head of the Soil Science and Biometeorology department from 1983 to 1989.

In May 2021, the Southard Family established the Southard Soil Science Graduate Fellowship Endowment in the College of Agriculture and Applied Sciences at Utah State University as a tribute to honor their father, Dr. Alvin R. Southard.  Income from the Endowment will be used to support the Department of Plant, Soils and Climate to benefit graduate students studying soil science within the department.

Please join his family in honoring Dr. Alvin R. Southard by making a donation to the Southard Soil Science Graduate Fellowship Endowment.

Alvin R. Southard posing for a picture wearing a cap and gown
Alvin R. Southard in mountains wearing a vest and large brim hat
Classic photo of Alvin Southard wearing plaid pants sitting at a desk reading a book

 

How to Give

Southard Soil Science Graduate Fellowship Endowment in memory of Dr. Alvin R. Southard

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Mail:
Utah State University
Dr. Alvin R. Southard Memorial
1590 Old Main Hill
Logan, UT 84322-1590

Make checks payable to "Utah State University."

Phone:
1-888-653-6246

Stock or Wire Transfer:
Contact Brandon Monson at 435-754-6067 or brandon.monson@usu.edu for instructions.

  • The Endowment will exist in perpetuity.  If circumstances arise that render the stated purpose of the Endowment (as set forth herein) illegal, impractical, impossible, or wasteful (e.g., a change in law, the elimination of a USU program, position, or course of study, the persistent unavailability of scholarship recipients that meet the criteria, etc.); then, as set forth in this Solicitation, under such circumstances and in keeping with Utah Code 51-8-501(1), USU may designate a new purpose and/or scholarship selection criteria for the Endowment.  Any such new purpose shall be defined by USU’s President and Vice President of Academic and Instructional Services.
  • The Endowment shall be deposited and invested by the Board of Trustees of USU, through the USU Investment Advisory Committee in accordance with USU’s investment policy.  The USU Foundation is the legal entity designated by USU to receive charitable gifts in support of its academic mission.
  • Distributions from the Endowment shall be governed by USU’s Endowment Spending Policy. The spending policy calls for an annual distribution up to 5% (currently set at 4%) of the value of the endowment account to be expended per the gift agreement. An additional 1.5% of the endowment value shall be used to fund the administration of the endowment and USU advancement efforts.  All additional gains shall be retained as appreciation and invested along with the corpus to grow the value of the Endowment over time.
  • By letter dated May 21, 2008, the Internal Revenue Service has declared the USU Foundation (federal tax identification number 87-0627128), to be a duly qualified charitable organization under section 501(c)(3) and also an organization described in sections 509(a)(1) and 170(b)(1)(A)(iv) of the Internal Revenue Code.  The Foundation is a duly chartered active Utah nonprofit corporation, under the provision of Utah Code, Title 16, Chapter 6a.