Giving Priorities

Floor plan for Corley Building attic renovation

$10 million

The Department of Biosystems Engineering has experienced unprecedent growth in the last five years as follows: 75% increase in faculty size, 100% increase in graduate students and 20% increase in undergraduate students. This is mainly because we are aligning the department with the societal needs of the future which has also strengthened the instructional, research and outreach missions in the following main areas – Smart Systems for Agriculture and Forestry, Controlled Environment in Agriculture, Bioprocess Engineering, and Ecological and Water Resources Engineering.

Key points:

Training of next generation of professionals who can tackle the challenges of the future especially those related to natural resources conservation engineering and converting biological materials and upcycling waste to value-added products.
Recruit exceptional graduate students to conduct cutting-edge and impactful research.
Providing exceptional student experience through a dedicated space for undergraduate students that encourages connections and contributes to an overarching Auburn experience
Strengthening the departmental national/international reputation for training the next generation of professionals who are prepared to lead purposeful lives and make significant contributions to the engineering profession and the society.

$150,000-250,000

The Department of Biosystems Engineering is housed in two main buildings – Corley, and Biological Engineering Research Laboratory (BERL - formerly called Corley Annex) buildings. In these two buildings, there are two classrooms (Corley 302 and 307), one computer lab (Corley 314), student design studio room (Corley 305), and two teaching labs (Corley 102, and BERL 001). In addition, there is a machine shop, and 9 research labs. We are requesting endowed funds for routine upgrade of equipment and materials for teaching in these spaces, and to conduct cutting-edge and impactful biosystems engineering research.

Key points:

Strengthening of Auburn’s reputation for providing an exceptional instructional experience for students.
Expanding experiential learning for students through hands-on experience in state-of the art facilities during laboratories for courses, thus improving their communication, teamwork, problem solving, and critical thinking skills.
Exceptional faculty scholars and research professionals of national and international renown recruited and retained thus ensuring Auburn remain a national leader in conducting impactful research
Strengthen the departmental national/international reputation for training the next generation of professionals who are prepared to lead purposeful lives and make significant contributions to the engineering profession and the society at the state, regional and national levels.

$25,000-100,000

The BSEN Endowment for Student Experiential Learning provides important support for hands-on and real-world learning for students thereby providing enhancing their student experience, and extend their learning beyond the classroom.

Key points:

Supports high-impact student experiences such as study-abroad programs and internships that provide opportunity for students to practice engineering in a different/global context, and that increases the student’s competency in technical adaptability, and improve their cross-cultural teamwork and communication skills.
Enhances academic and professional development by funding undergraduate research projects that allow students to explore scientific inquiry, build technical skills, and work directly with faculty mentors.
Empowers student success through competition and leadership by providing resources for teams participating in events such as ASABE quarter scale tractor, NASA robotics, other ASABE, and other related student competitions.

Contact

Please reach out to our development team about giving opportunities and priorities, methods of giving and other ways you may engage with the College of Agriculture.