(1941 – 2023)
Dr. Richard Lafayette Guthrie was Dean Emeritus of the College of Agriculture at Auburn University. He grew up on a dairy farm in Bullock County. Throughout his childhood and young adulthood, Richard was active in 4-H activities and competitions.
After graduating from high school, Richard went on to play football and run track for Auburn University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy and soils in 1962. While an undergraduate, Richard was initiated into Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. In 1965, he earned a master’s degree at Auburn and moved his family to Ithaca, New York, where he received a Ph.D. from Cornell University.
Richard worked as a soil scientist for the USDA for 20 years, concluding this first career in 1983 as National Leader for Soil Taxonomy in Washington DC. In 1983, Richard returned to his alma mater to serve as the head of Auburn University’s department of agronomy and soils. He later served as acting dean of Auburn’s College of Agriculture, associate dean of the international agricultural program, and finally, as Dean of the College of Agriculture and Director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station from 2005 to 2010.
Among his many honors and awards are the Alabama Farmers Federation’s service to Agriculture Award, induction into the Southeast Region of National Association of Conservation Districts’ Hall of Fame, and the 1996 Walter Gilbert Award, which is given annually to an individual who was a student athlete at Auburn and who has distinguished himself or herself through career and life achievements post-graduation.
Richard was inducted into the Alabama 4-H Wall of Fame in 2010.
After retirement, Richard remained active in the agricultural and forest community, serving on the Alabama Forestry County and the Alabama Natural Resources Committee for more than ten years, as Chairman of the Bullock County Soil and Water Conservation District.
In recognition of his years of service, the name of Dr. Richard L. Guthrie is inscribed on the dedicatory plaque of the Extension Memorial Chapel.
Chapel Plaque Inscription Number 672
