Gile Endowments Help Students Interested in Soil Sciences
The word "retirement" doesn't exist in Leland Gile's vocabulary. There are too many things that interest him. Most of his career has been devoted to learning and teaching about soil sciences. He is a distinguished international researcher and author in the soil science field and a member of multiple professional societies.
Leland has called Las Cruces home since 1957. In conjunction with his career with the Soil Conservation Service, he joined the Desert Project under the auspices of New Mexico State University, focusing on the soil geomorphology of the Jornada Experimental Range.
Leland has been an Earth Team volunteer since 1987. In 2001, he received the West Regional Earth Team Volunteer Award for his support of the conservation movement. The National Association of Conservation Districts, the voice of America's 3,000 local conservation districts, presents the Earth Team award annually.
As a supporter of New Mexico State University for more than 20 years, Leland established his first endowed scholarship fund in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences in 1993 in honor of his late wife, Dora Blossom Gile. There are also funds bearing her name in biology, geology and the library's Rio Grande Historical Collections, plus there are plans for more.
A member of NMSU's 1888 Society, Leland's NMSU endowment funds will benefit from his estate after his lifetime. "It has always been about the students," he says. His endowments support undergraduate and graduate students in a variety of fields related to his own career.