Paul A. Herbert papers

Record Group

Identifier: UA-17.119

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection contains materials primarily dealing with Herbert’s involvement with the advisory committee to the Conservation Commission of the State of Michigan. There are two folders of correspondence and reports documenting Herbert’s involvement with the advisory committee, plus three folders of drafts of the report submitted by the advisory committee to the commission. The collection also contains Herbert’s seventy-six page typescript, “Forestry and Conservation at Michigan State University.” In this manuscript Herbert describes the early days of the Forestry Department, but focuses mainly on his tenure as department head. There is also a photocopy of the handwritten manuscript “The Demise of the MSU Conservation Division.” “The Old Order Changeth” is a photocopy of a letter by Herbert to alumni about the breakup of the Conservation Division.

Dates

Creation: 1931 - 1979

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

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

Biographical Note

Paul A. Herbert was born on August 21, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921 with his B.S. and M.F. then earned a Ph.D. in 1940 from the University of Michigan. He came to Michigan Agricultural College (now Michigan State University) as a research assistant in 1922. He left in 1926 to work on Forest Economic projects under the U.S. Forest Service, however returned to East Lansing in 1930 following the death of A. K. Chittenden to become the head of the Forestry Department. In 1950, the Division of Conservation was established within the School of Agriculture. Herbert was appointed the first director of the division which included the departments of Forestry, Wood Utilization, Fisheries and Wildlife, and Land and Water Conservation. This administrative organization did not work well, and the division was abolished in 1955. In 1956 shortly after the break up of the division, Herbert left MSU to work for the State of Michigan.

Herbert was on the editorial staff of the Journal of Forestry for ten years and also served as associate editor of Michigan Out-of-Doors. His memberships in honorary and professional organizations included the American Association of University Professors, Central States Region Society of American Foresters (president, 1938), National Wildlife Federation (regional director, 1942-1945, 1950-1953), American Planning and Civic Association (chairman of the Michigan Chapter, 1939), Michigan United Conservation Clubs (president, 1940, 1941, 1944), Nature Conservancy (board of governors, 1952), Ingham County Conservation Society (president, 1949-1950), Sigma Xi, and Phi Kappa Tau.