(From left to right) Dr. Jane Moore, professor emerita, and College of Education Dean Frances Kochan accept a $5,000 check from State Sen. Ted Little on behalf the Evelyn Moore Endowed Scholarship.

Evelyn Moore didn't graduate from college, but she still managed to prove her worth in a university setting.

After Moore's daughter went away to Judson College, leaving her an empty-nester in her Dozier, Ala., home, Moore followed opted for a similar journey. She went off to college too, but as the matriarch of a large extended family rather than as a student. Evelyn Moore came to Auburn University to serve as the housemother for the women of Dorm 3, which would later become Willie Little Hall. Over the course of the years, in underscoring the value of education and faith, Evelyn Moore provided hundreds of young women with the same road map to success that her daughter followed in becoming an Auburn University professor.

"She was a very wise woman and she appreciated education,'' Dr. Jane B. Moore said of her mother, who lived a full life from 1907-1989. "There was never a time when education was not for me. I was very proud of her.''

So much so, in fact, that she established the Evelyn Moore Endowed Scholarship with an initial gift in 2007. Jane Moore, professor emerita in the Auburn University College of Education, served as a faculty member in the Department of Kinesiology (formerly Health and Human Performance) for 22 years before retiring in 1997.

A $5,000 taxpayer donation presented to the Moore and the College of Education by State Sen. Ted Little   on Dec. 12 pushed the scholarship endowment to $30,000. Little said he was particularly honored to make the presentation because he got to know Evelyn and Jane Moore while growing up in Andalusia, Ala., a short distance from Dozier.

"Evelyn Moore was a queen of a lady and in addition to that, she loved Auburn University,'' Little said. "Each year, legislators have an opportunity to give service grants. This is one of the good things that can come out of the legislature.''

Jane Moore said her motivation for endowing a scholarship was two-fold. She wanted to do it as a gesture of thanks for her mother's guidance. She also wanted to create opportunity for College of Education students in need. Recipients of the Evelyn Moore Endowed Scholarship will receive financial assistance for one year.

"There is a need for scholarships and student help,'' said Dr. Moore, who taught motor development. "I'm always anxious to do what I can. I was here a long time and it was a good ride the whole way.''

She wanted to give back to Auburn University's College of Education because of the professional and personal joy it gave her during her 22 years on faculty.

"We really do have fine, fine professors in terms of good teaching and we have students that have a level of inquiry that I really enjoyed working with,'' Dr. Moore said.