The Willard Sherman Turrell Herbarium (MU) of Miami University had its official beginning in 1906 with the appointment of Bruce Fink, eminent lichenologist and mycologist, as the first professor of Botany at Miami University, and Chairman of what was then known as the Department of Botany and Microbiology. Prior to the establishment of the department and herbarium in 1906, a small herbarium had existed here in the 1870's, which left with the departure of Dr. J.F. James in the late 1880's (Dr. James' herbarium is apparently now at Ohio State University).
Unfortunately, after Dr. Fink's death in 1928, most of his priceless collections were sold to the University of Michigan. However, over 2,000 lichens and 3,000 fungi remained at Miami University. Arthur T. Evans succeeded Fink and encouraged many students, including Elso Barghoorn, Charles Heimsch, Vernon Cheadle and Richard Howard to collect plants and add them to the herbarium. Ethel C. Belk, one of Arthur J. Eames' students, functioned as curator from 1933 until about 1956. Harvey A. Miller arrived at Miami University in 1956 and as curator began the development of an active exchange program that led to significant growth in the herbarium.
In 1965, it was learned that the oldest and largest herbarium in Ohio, that of Oberlin College (OC), was to be sold, at least in part. Miller and department chairman Charles Heimsch were successful in persuading Miami University that this collection should remain in the state and that it would be a significant addition to the original Miami University holdings. The Oberlin College collection, minus most its Ohio specimens, was purchased in 1966 with a gift from Elizabeth P. Turrell and later the herbarium was named in honor of her uncle, Willard Sherman Turrell. The relocation of the Oberlin College collection into the Miami University holdings was made possible in part with a grant from the National Science Foundation in 1967. This grant also provided for the hiring of a full time technician, a position which has been continued by the university to this day. In 1984 this position was upgraded to that of Assistant Curator and most recently Curator.
Will H. Blackwell joined Miami University in 1968 and served as curator from 1968-1978, 1983-1986, and 1988-1989. W. Hardy Eshbaugh arrived at Miami University in 1967 and served as the curator from 1967-68, 1978-82, and 1989-93. Wayne J. Elisens curated from 1982-1983, and R. James Hickey curated from 1987-1988. The current curator, Michael A. Vincent, was appointed in 1993 (Anonymous, 1974; Cusick and Snider 1982, 1984; Eshbaugh 1980, 1984; Miller, 1968; Vincent, 1991).
The Herbarium is a unit of the Department of Botany, Miami University. Its mission is to support the teaching, research, and public service activities of the institution. The herbarium's primary responsibility is to advance and develop the plant systematic program in the broadest sense.
The herbarium promotes the teaching role of the department and the systematics program by supporting the teaching needs in a variety of offerings which range from lower-level undergraduate courses through graduate-level offerings, including Natural History of Plants (BOT 121), Field Botany (BOT 155), Summer Flora (BOT 181), Plant Taxonomy (BOT 202), Dendrology (BOT 205), Introductory Plant Morphology (BOT 211), Introductory Mycology (BOT 212), Economic Botany (BOT 331), Morphology of Vascular Plants (BOT 4/509), Advanced Mycology (BOT 4/521), Tropical Flora of the Bahamas (BOT 4/599.A), Plant Biosystematics (BOT 665), specialized topical seminar courses (BOT 720), and Advanced Topics in Systematics (BOT 750G). The herbarium also provides teaching resources to other departments and units of the institution upon request.
The Herbarium supports research within the Department, the University, the state, and the nation. Its mandate is to support the research activities of the Systematic Botany Program, and the Systematics community in general. This is accomplished by borrowing and lending research specimens, and by financing field research activities. Furthermore, the herbarium supports research activities by processing loans, processing newly acquired specimens, properly curating both borrowed materials and the permanent collection, and by documentation and annotation of loans.
The public service role of the Herbarium is to serve the community as a part of the museum network (Anthropology, Botany, Geology, and Zoology) of the College of Arts and Science and Miami University. This responsibility is most important. The Herbarium provides public tours, lectures, and exhibits. The Herbarium serves as an information resource and identification service to the medical, law enforcement, extension service community, etc. Even more important is the role the Herbarium plays in monitoring plant species (biodiversity) in the tri-state region through its joint efforts with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the Nature Conservancy and other federal, state, local and private agencies.
The Herbarium is organized as a unit within the Department of Botany. The Curator reports directly to the Chair of the Department, while the Assistant Curator reports to the Curator. The Willard Sherman Turrell Herbarium has six faculty and several students associated with it on a continuing basis. The faculty and their areas of specialization are presented in Table 2.
| Michael A. Vincent | Curator | Angiosperms, Fungi |
| R. James Hickey | Asstistant Curator, Professor | Pteridophytes, Angiosperms |
| W.
Hardy Eshbaugh
|
Professor Emeritus |
Angiosperms |
| Harvey A. Miller | Adjunct Professor | Bryophytes |
| Linda E. Watson | Asstant Professor | Molecular Systematics |
| Thomas K. Wilson | Professor Emeritus | Plant Morphology |
In addition to the faculty and staff, each year the Herbarium employs 3-4 hourly workers. They normally work five to ten hours per week mounting, repairing, and filing specimens. A permanent graduate research assistant position is assigned to the Herbarium, and students are appointed to the position for a semester at a time. This provides an opportunity for the graduate student to get on the job training in herbarium practices.