Borland Legacy Continues Through Endowed Gifts
Borland legacy to continue through endowed gifts
Last year Colorado State University bid farewell to distinguished water researcher and long-time friend, Whitney Borland. He is considered one of the pioneers who helped establish Colorado State's reputation as a leader in water research.
Borland is not a Colorado State alumnus, receiving degrees from the University of Nebraska, University of California, and University of Colorado. His work during the 1930s with the Bureau of Reclamation's laboratories at what was then Colorado A&M accounts for Borland's connections with Colorado State University.
Borland spent eight years in Fort Collins conducting model studies and working in the engineering lab designed by Ralph Parshall, inventor of the Parshall Flume, the most widely used device for accurately measuring water flow in channels.
The research conducted by Borland's team of engineers and technicians would ultimately result in the building of some of the world's largest dams. This group was instrumental in modeling sedimentation studies for the Hoover Dam, the Grand Coulee and Imperial Dams, and the Tennessee Valley Association's Norris and Wheeler Dams.
By the time the Bureau returned to Denver in 1938, Colorado A&M, later to become Colorado State University, had established itself as a leader in water research. Borland went on to a distinguished 42 year-long career with the Bureau, and during his tenure many significant water projects were built that have had a long-lasting impact on the development of the West.
Several years before his death, Borland established a "life estate" with a $1.2 million gift to the College of Engineering. The Whitney Borland Water Center Endowment is an assurance that Colorado State will continue to lead the world in pioneering water research. Borland had previously donated his personal collection of professional papers and research to Colorado State. The collection, housed in the Water Resources Archive in the Morgan Library, will make his extensive work available to water researchers and students.
When he passed away in October of 2001, Whitney Borland left his entire estate to the Department of Civil Engineering at Colorado State University. The financial gift will impact the department in three important areas. Borland stipulated that the gift was to be used equally for faculty support, student scholarships and equipment. With these wishes in mind the department created a plan that will satisfy the conditions of the gift and best meet the needs of the department. The tentative plans allow for the creation of a new professorship and two chair positions, the creation of several graduate fellowships including conference and research support, and also allows for equipment to support the new chair positions and new research projects.
"Whitney Borland made great contributions to the field of water engineering," says department head Sandra Woods, "and his gifts to the College will help to endow the future of water engineering at Colorado State."Born in 1905, Whitney Borland was raised in a sod house in Holyoke, Colorado. He served his country during WWII and was a member of the famed Tenth Mountain Division. Following the war Borland was a member of the National Ski Patrol and a snow avalanche expert who helped pioneer the science of snow physics. He was also an avid climber, climbing all the 14,000 peaks in Colorado, Nevada, and California. Whitney Borland died in October 2001 at the age of 96.