The Overlease Collection consists of the papers of William Roy Overlease (1925-2007), who was a professor at West Chester from 1963 to 1986. It contains a considerable amount of information on the history and development of the Darlington Herbarium, a gift to West Chester from the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science in the 1870s. To the left you can see the Cabinet's catalog of their plant specimens, dated 1834. There are also documents Overlease created to help navigate the Herbarium. There is biographical information about William Darlington (1782-1863), prominent botanist, founding member of the Cabinet, and author of Flora Cestrica, a listing of plants found in Chester County – originally published in 1837 and updated in 1853. Below, you can see both editions.
Overlease and his wife Edith pursued many research projects together, both in the West Chester area and elsewhere, and the collection contains raw data and drafts for scholarly publications from these projects. There is correspondence and other material relating to the fight for the Gordon Natural Area, and materials relating to courses that Overlease taught at West Chester. Additionally, it contains biographical information about Overlease.
William Roy Overlease was a botanist, ornithologist, ecologist, historian, and teacher who was committed to science education throughout his career. Among many other accomplishments, he was in large part responsible for the establishment of the Robert B. Gordon Natural Area for Environmental Studies on West Chester’s South Campus, and he was Curator of the Darlington Herbarium and the College Science Museum.
Overlease was born and grew up in Elkhart, Indiana. He attended Michigan State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Forestry, a five year professional degree, in 1950, and an MS in Conservation in 1952. These were early days for academic programs in this field, and Overlease was required to get special permission from the graduate council of the university in order to pursue his MS. He also earned a Secondary Education Teaching Certificate in 1950, demonstrating his dedication to science education from the start of his career.
From 1952 to 1957, Overlease worked for the Interpretative Program of the Indiana Department of Conservation, Division of State Parks, as the only full-time state park naturalist in the Midwest (the rest were hired seasonally or on a part-time basis on weekends). As such, he had broad responsibilities for developing educational programming for state parks throughout Indiana.
During this time, he met Edith Dymond at Turkey Run State Park, Indiana and they married there in 1955. They were a devoted couple and collaborated on all of William’s field work and publications.
Overlease returned to Michigan State University, to pursue a PhD in Botany and Plant Pathology, which he completed in 1964.
In 1963, he began working at West Chester, becoming a full professor in 1967. Some of the courses he taught were Ecology, Plant Taxonomy, Field Botany, Human Ecology, World Ecosystems, and undergraduate and graduate seminars, as well as summer mini-courses. To the right, you can see a note which Bonnie Lauer, a former student, sent to Overlease years after she graduated, expressing her gratitude.
One of his greatest accomplishments was to establish the Gordon Natural Area at the South Campus as a permanent natural laboratory to study plants and animals. The struggle began the year after he began working at West Chester, when he found out that the Physical Education Department wanted to develop 45 acres of forest on the South Campus: “Beginning in 1964, I began to request and negotiate with the Physical Education Department to preserve some of the forest and wild land owned by the college on South Campus for ecological studies. After several years of effort, a hearing was obtained with the board of trustees but the project was turned down. With the change in national attitude toward ecology in the early 1970s a new effort was made.” The second time the proposal went before the board of trustees, it was approved and on November 10, 1973, the Robert B. Gordon Natural Area for Environmental Studies was dedicated.
Overlease’s curation of the Darlington Herbarium was another important contribution to West Chester. The Herbarium originally belonged to the Chester County Cabinet of Natural Science, but when its membership dwindled in the later nineteenth century, the Cabinet donated all of its 17,000 plant specimens to West Chester. The specimens were mostly collected between 1828 and 1850, from all over the world: throughout North America, Siberia, South Africa, Australia, Jamaica, the British Isles, the European Continent, and Egypt are all represented.
Over the years, various faculty members and students from the Science Department had ensured the preservation and organization of the specimens. In 1965, Overlease overhauled the cataloging system, rearranging the collection alphabetically by family and alphabetically be genus within each family. A card catalog reflecting this new organization system was created over five years. Overlease also replaced the wooden cabinets the specimens had been stored in for decades with metal cabinets that offered the specimens much more protection.
References
Holt, Jack. 2011. “William R. Overlease (1925-2007).” Bartonia 65: 115-116.
http://digitalcommons.wcupa.edu/gna_sp_series/10/ Accessed May 24, 2017.
Gordon, Robert B. “The William Darlington Herbarium of the West Chester State College.” [circa 1950s].
Overlease Collection, Box 1, Folder 2.
Overlease, William R. “A Short History of the William Darlington Herbarium.” 1989. Folder 1, Box 1,
Overlease. Special Collections, West Chester University Libraries.
Overlease, William R. [Curriculum Vitae]. [Circa 1983]. “Personal Data” folder, Overleaseb Collection.
Special Collections, West Chester University Libraries.
West Chester University Libraries hosted its inaugural first-year student Open House on August 26 at Francis Harvey Green Library. An estimated 1,300 new students attended the program. During the event, library staff members demonstrated how to utilize services, such as RamPrint and RamNet. They also assisted students with printing their syllabi for the fall semester. Additionally, librarians distributed snacks to students, were available to answer questions, and raffled off $100 gift cards to the West Chester University Campus Bookstore. The goal of the event was to acquaint students with library personnel, decrease anxiety about using library services, and help students succeed during their academic careers. Librarians sought to create a welcoming atmosphere for the first-year Golden Rams.
“What we really wanted students to remember is the library is an open space where they can come and that this space belongs to them,” said Associate Dean of University Libraries Amy Ward. “We wanted them to know that we are here for them and that they can come back any time.”
Entering college and navigating a library can be a daunting task, especially for first year or first generation college students. Librarians focused on a shared vision of equipping students for success during their college careers. Staff members at service points, such as the Library Help Desk and Research Help Desk, provided friendly student-centered advice and support to help the new Golden Rams adjust to the community.
“My approach to welcoming students was simply asking them how I could help. I think most students were unsure about what all an academic library can do for them—most students didn’t know that their professor might’ve put their textbooks on reserve, or that librarians can help with projects,” said Student Success Librarian Amy Pajewski. “Alex [Miriello] and I really worked together to get students’ laptops set up to print from anywhere. I think students were pretty surprised that we could help with that, and I hope that it left the impression that we can help with just about anything.”
Students responded well to the services provided by staff members. “There have been a few workers that have been super helpful when it has come to printing, and setting up RamPrint,” said first year student Jordan Nielsen. Others reflected on the importance of learning about the resources provided by the library. “When I visit the library, the printing and technology services are most helpful to me,” said first year student Gia DeAngelis. “If I have a problem with my laptop or need to print large quantities of paper at one time it is beneficial to head over to the library.”
Hosting events such as the first year student Open House is part of a larger initiative to help students actualize their full potentials. A central component in that process is connecting students to the resources they need the most. Another aspect is building a sense of community between library staff members, as well as between students and their peers. Programs such as the first year student Open House are crucial for building those connections and helping students succeed.
“I think one of the reasons why students struggle in college is because they aren’t able, or don’t get the chance to make those connections. We were there to help quell some of their anxiety and gave them a place they could go with friendly folks who want to help,” said Pajewski. “I also think it allowed students to connect with other students, which is a huge tenant of student success. Students succeed when they make connections with their peers. I saw students working together, helping others set up their laptops onto the print servers…what I was witnessing were students connecting with each other and creating this community of learners.”
Another way in which library administrators are focusing on student success is by providing financial support. Initiatives such as the gift card raffle help first year Golden Rams with the expenses of higher education. “One of the barriers for student success in college are financial burdens for things like textbooks,” said Pajewski. “I think that the $100 gift card drawing is a way for us to say ‘we care about you and your success.’ Even if that amount can’t cover an entire textbook, I think that being able to provide some amount of money can help students maybe take on fewer hours at work this week which could ultimately help them complete assignments.”
Students were given the option of voluntarily entering their names into the gift card raffle free of charge during the open house. Ten first year students were selected at random to receive the gift cards. Those funds helped connect students with items they required. “I was super excited to receive the gift card for the bookstore,” said Nielsen. “It allowed me to purchase some items that I have been waiting to get.” Other students used the gift card to get items for their loved ones. “It was very exciting to receive this gift card,” said DeAngelis. “I went right to Sykes to buy my family some WCU apparel.”
After the success of the inaugural first year student Open House, the program is set to become a tradition. Members of the class of 2025 can look forward to meeting library staff members as one of their first experiences on campus. According to Associate Dean Ward, the program will also expand to include more interactive activities for students.
“My hope is that as we grow the program for the first year student Open House that we are able to expose students to more of the offerings we have and to help them realize that the library is a good resource to help them succeed as a student here at West Chester,” said Associate Dean Ward.
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