Ronald L. Stuckey Herbarium Archives

 Vision

Historical documentation of the activities and accomplishments of the botanical sciences at Ohio State University, with emphasis on systematic botany and the herbarium.

 Mission

To document the history and accomplishments of the Herbarium, the Department of Botany, the Department of Plant Biology, and botanists in the Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology of Ohio State University, and to make this information available to the university community and interested scholars nationally and internationally.

Dedication of the Ronald L. Stuckey Archives

              The formation of the Herbarium Archives was developed by the foresight and industry of Ronald L. Stuckey, former Professor of the Department of Botany at Ohio State.  Dr. Stuckey had a deep interest in the historical development of botany at the University, as well as in the history of botanists of the Ohio region.  He served as the unofficial archivist of the Department of Botany for decades, and retiring faculty members donated materials to him for curation.  The quantity and quality of these materials is impressive, which provided the impetus for development of the archives project within the Herbarium.  It is proper that these archives are named for Prof. Stuckey, and this occurred in a ceremony on 14 June 2019.

Acquisitions Policy

              The Herbarium Archives contains items from the founding of the Ohio State University Herbarium in 1891 to the present.  Types of materials include papers, publications, audiovisual materials, photographic images, administration files, reports, and artifacts. 

              Materials typically come by donation to the Herbarium Archives from Professors and their families, students, associates, and botanists from other institutions.  Normally, raw data, personal research notes, or manuscript drafts generated in the course of research investigations are not accepted.  However, research collections of an unusual nature, judged unduplicated elsewhere and of value for stimulating additional research, may be accepted.

 Regulations for Use of Archives

              The Ronald L. Stuckey Herbarium Archives are open to the public who seek information of general interest and for research purposes.  Use of the Archives requires help from the Herbarium staff, who will locate the items of interest and provide a suitable desk space for them to be examined or photographed (with permission). Facilities are available for making copies of documents.  Inquiries regarding specific holdings are welcomed (Tel: 614-292-3296; email: freudenstein.1@osu.edu; Herbarium, Museum of Biological Diversity, The Ohio State University, 1315 Kinnear Road, Columbus, Ohio 43212, U.S.A.).

 Contents

              The Ronald L. Stuckey Herbarium Archives are housed within the Ohio State University Herbarium in Room 1350r. The room contains file cabinets, metal and wooden double door cabinets, open book cases, horizontal storage file cabinets (shelf-units), a hanging wall chart cabinet, a map cabinet, and a work desk. 

              The information housed in the Archives begins with the founding of the Herbarium in 1891 and continues to the present day.  The file cabinets house information pertaining to the administration of the Herbarium, miscellaneous topics, and several drawers containing vertical files on more than 360 individuals, principally professors, students, and associates of the Department of Botany and Herbarium, plus items on many other botanists world-wide.  These provide quick access to information for many persons. The larger cabinets and shelves contain boxes and assorted collections for persons who have substantially more items.