Tom and Evelyn Linebery believed in education and continue this legacy with a $2.7 million bequest to benefit research and education in range science and agricultural policy in the College of Agriculture and Home Economics.

The Tom Linebery Distinguished Chair and Policy Center is charged with promoting the visibility of the range, livestock, forestry, oil and gas industries, developing position papers, analyzing major federal actions, enhancing student education and training, and evaluating the economic impact of policies on affected industries. The Evelyn Linebery Chair in Agriculture provides funds for both human and material resources to support the Tom Linebery Chair.

The Linebery legacy helps the college concurrently serve the oil and livestock industries to provide a sustainable long-term resource for range livestock and wildlife in the state. The endowments also provide funds for students in such areas as natural resource law and range management.

Evelyn Scarborough was born in 1905 and Tom Linebery in 1910. They married in 1933 and raised cattle and horses for nearly six decades on the Frying Pan Ranch, a 135,000-acre property in West Texas and southeastern New Mexico. Both Tom and Evelyn Linebery died in 2001.

Stan Fulton