William B. Drew papers

Record Group

Identifier: UA-17.135

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

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.

Dates

Creation: 1943 - 2005

Creator

Drew, W. B. (William Brooks) (Donor, Person)
Rockefeller, Nelson A. (Nelson Aldrich), 1908-1979 (Correspondent, Person)
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972 (Correspondent, Person)
Kennedy, John F. (John Fitzgerald), 1917-1963 (Correspondent, Person)
Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972 (Correspondent, Person)
Strauss, Lewis L. (Correspondent, Person)
Drew, W. B. (William Brooks) (Person)

Language of Materials

Some of the materials are in Spanish.

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

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.