William B. Drew Papers
UA.17.135

Summary Information

Repository
Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections
Creator
Drew, W. B., (William Brooks)
Creator - Donor
Drew, W. B., (William Brooks)
Creator - Correspondent
Hoover, J. Edgar, (John Edgar), 1895-1972
Creator - Correspondent
Kennedy, John F., (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963
Creator - Correspondent
Rockefeller, Nelson A., (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979
Creator - Correspondent
Strauss, Lewis L.
Creator - Correspondent
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
Title
William B. Drew papers
ID
UA.17.135
Date [inclusive]
1943-2005
Extent
0.4 Cubic feet
Language
English
Language of Materials
Some of the materials are in Spanish.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: "Item title, Collection title, Collection Identifier, Michigan State University Archives & Historical Collections, East Lansing, Michigan."

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Biographical Note

William B. Drew was born on December 11, 1908. He received a B.S. in 1930 from Massachusetts Agricultural College, an M.A. in 1931 from Harvard University, and a Ph.D. in 1934 from Harvard University, and was a Post-Doctoral Assistant from 1934-1935 in the Gray Herbarium at Harvard University. Drew taught at many universities over his academic life. He started at Harvard University from 1931-1934 as an Assistant in the Gray Herbarium. In the summer of 1933, he was the botanist for the Louise A. Boyd Greenland Expedition. In 1934-1935, he was a professor of Biology at Cambridge School of Liberal Arts in Cambridge, Massachusetts. From 1935-1936, he was a professor at American International College in Springfield, Massachusetts in the Department of Botany and Geology. In 1945 he came to Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) as an Associate Professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology. From 1948 to 1973 he was a Professor as well as head of the department. Drew was a member of the MSU Men's Club and served as president in 1958. From 1973 until his retirement in 1976 he was a professor in the department. In 1974 he went to Thailand as part of the Midwest Universities Consortium for International Activities (MUCIA) to evaluate Agriculture and Veterinary Higher Education.

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Scope and Contents note

The William B. Drew collection consists of materials from Drew’s Cinchona mission in Ecuador, reports about the effects of herbicide in South Vietnam, reports about swidden (slash and burn) to forest in Thailand, and the essay “History of the Botany and Plant Pathology Department from 1945-1973.” In this essay Drew writes about his time as a professor and head of the department and describes events in the department as well as faculty members.

The collection also includes MSU Men’s Club correspondence with letters from J. Edgar Hoover, Nelson Rockefeller, Harry Truman, Lewis Strauss, and John F. Kennedy. The materials from the Cinchona mission records from 1944-1945 include site reports, observations and field notes, maps, memorandums to researchers and assistants, financial papers, and reports written on the research conducted. There is also a manuscript of a book written by William Drew and a copy of the final book, which was finished by his daughter, Cynthia Drew Redman. The collection also has a newspaper bulletin from Ecuador in 1944. Also included is a photograph of professors Jack C. Elliott, William B. Drew, Methodius S. Sefcovic, and Edmund Tylutki inspecting greenhouse plants. There are also newspaper articles about the Beal-Darlington Herbarium in 1963. William Drew is in the pictures associated with the articles.

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Michigan State University Archives and Historical Collections

Conrad Hall
888 Wilson Road, Room 101
East Lansing , MI, 48824
517-355-2330
archives@msu.edu

Revision Description

 P. Wojcik revised March 2011; Accession added July 2011 July 2011

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Legal Status note

Copyright: Cynthia Redman and Michigan State University. Property Rights: Michigan State University.

Conditions Governing Use

Permission to publish material from this collection must be obtained from University Archives & Historical Collections, Michigan State University.

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Controlled Access Headings

Corporate Name(s)

  • Michigan State University. Men's Club.

Genre(s)

  • Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
  • Fieldnotes
  • Letters (correspondence)
  • Manuscripts
  • Maps
  • Memorandums
  • Photographs
  • Reports

Personal Name(s)

  • Redman, Cynthia Drew

Subject(s)

  • Botanists -- United States
  • Cinchona -- Colombia
  • Cinchona -- Ecuador
  • Horticulture
  • Pesticides -- Environmental aspects -- Vietnam
  • Scientific expeditions -- Colombia
  • Scientific expeditions -- Ecuador
  • Shifting cultivation -- Thailand

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Collection Inventory

Box Folder

The Land of Donde Quineré (book) 2005 

 2772 1

Ecuador-Cinchona Mission 
Box Folder

Bark Sample Form 1944 

 2772 2

Bulletin-“Alianza Democratica Ecuatoriana, Seccion Imbabura, a la Ciudadania de la Provincia” 1944 

 2772 3

Colombian Cinchona Manual 1944 

 Box
2772		 Folder
4

Correspondence 1943-1945, Undated 

 2772 5

Finances/Expenses 1944-1945 

 2772 6

Histology of Barks of Cinchona and Some Related Genera in Colombia” Undated 

 2772 7

“Manual de Quinas Colombianas” 1944 

 2772 8

Manuscript for “The Land of Donde Quineré” Undated 

 2772 9

Maps Undated 

 2772 10

Memos 1943-1945, Undated 

 2772 11

Plant Information 1944, Undated 

 2772 12

Plant Lists Undated 

 2772 13

Site Visit Reports 1944 

 2772 14

Supplies 1943-1944 

 2772 15
Box Folder

“The Effects of Herbicides in South Vietnam, Part A: Summary and Conclusions” 1974 

 2772 16

“The Effects of Herbicides in South Vietnam, Part B: Working Papers” 1974 

 2772 17

Forest Research Bulletin-“An Assessment of Productivity in Successional Stages from Abandoned Swidden (Rai) to Dry Evergreen Forest in Northeastern Thailand” 1978 

 2772 18

Forest Research Bulletin-“The Inventory of Nutrients in Vegetation During Secondary Succession from Swidden to Forest in Thailand” 1979 

 2772 19

"A History of Botany and Plant Pathology from 1945-1973" by William B. Drew 

 2772 20

MSU Men’s Club Correspondence 1958 

 2772 21

Newspaper clippings about the Beal-Darlington Herbarium 1963, Undated 

 2772 22

Photograph of William Drew, Jack Elliot, Methodius Sefcovic, and Edmund Tylutki Circa 1952 

 2772 23