Guide to the Vernon and Mary Cheadle Papers
Laurie Hannah, Lindsey Hashimoto, and Sarah Vitone
Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration
University of California, Santa Barbara
Harder South 9615
Santa Barbara, California 93106-9615
Phone: (805) 893-2401
Fax: (805) 893-4222
Email: hannah@lifesci.ucsb.edu
URL: http://ccber.lifesci.ucsb.edu/library
© 2008
The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Vernon and Mary Cheadle papers
Dates: 1936-1994
Collection number: MS-07
Creator:
Cheadle, Vernon Irvin, 1910-
Creator:
Cheadle, Mary Low
Collection Size:
11 linear feet
4 record storage boxes, 14 photo boxes, 4 binders
Repository:
UC Santa Barbara Library, Department of Special Research Collections
Abstract: Correspondence, teaching materials, research materials, photographs, scrapbooks, and artifacts documenting Vernon and Mary
Cheadle's years when Vernon was Professor of Botany at UC Davis and when he was Chancellor at UCSB.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
Access
Collection is open for research.
Publication Rights
Copyright has not been assigned to the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, UC Santa Barbara. All requests
for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Cheadle Center as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.
Preferred Citation
Vernon and Mary Cheadle papers, MS-07, Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration. University of California,
Santa Barbara.
Acquisition Information
Papers transferred from the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration, University of California, Santa Barbara,
to the UC Santa Barbara Library Department of Special Research Collections, August, 2016.
Processing Information
Arrangement and description of this collection was made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
Biography / Administrative History
Vernon Irvin Cheadle was both an academician and administrator at several colleges and universities across the country, but
he is best known for his role as Chancellor of UCSB from 1962 to 1977. Cheadle was born in Salem, South Dakota on February
6, 1910. As a high-school and college student, he competed in track and field events and was also a member of the basketball
and football teams. He attended South Dakota State University for one year before transferring to Miami University where he
received a B.S. (magna cum laude) in 1932. In 1932 he was accepted to Harvard University and he received an M.S. in 1934 and
his Ph.D. in botany in 1936 under the mentorship of Ralph H. Wetmore. After graduating from Harvard, Vernon Cheadle spent
six weeks on a collecting trip in Cuba. Many of the specimens he collected are still preserved in his vast plant specimen
collection in the Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration at UCSB. While on his collecting trip, he was
offered a position in the Department of Botany at Rhode Island State College, an appointment he began in 1936. He was Professor
and Chair of the department from 1942 to 1952 and also served as Director of the Graduate Division. From 1944 to 1946 he served
as a U.S. Navy lieutenant in the Pacific theater.
During 1950-51, Cheadle spent a sabbatical year at the University of California at Davis. He was attracted to Davis because
he wished to collaborate with Dr. Katherine Esau on their mutual research interest, vascular tissues in higher plants. He
met Dr. Esau, an internationally-known botanist at Harvard while she was there on a Guggenheim Research Fellowship. After
returning to Rhode Island, Cheadle was invited back to Davis where he served as Department Chair from 1952 to 1962. He also
served as the Acting Vice Chancellor from 1961 to 1962, just prior to his appointment as Chancellor of the Santa Barbara campus.
During his tenure as UCSB's second chancellor, the number of academic disciplines on campus increased from 36 to 100, and
the student enrollment grew from 4,700 to more than 12,000. In 1979, UCSB's administration building was named Cheadle Hall
to honor Vernon Cheadle's exceptional leadership during the campus' formative years. Cheadle retired in 1977 and returned
to the laboratory full time to resume his life-long studies on the tracheary cells, the water-conducting cells in higher plants.
In addition to his strong interests in botany and research, Cheadle continued to be active in university and community affairs.
He also continued his interest in sports and began competing in Master's Track and Field meets, setting many national records
in the shot-put and discus throw. Cheadle passed away in 1995 at the age of 85.
Mary Low Cheadle was born in Rhode Island in 1915. She graduated from Rhode Island College in Providence, and became a teacher
in the Kingston, RI, public school system. She and Vernon married in 1939, while Vernon was on the faculty of Rhode Island
State College. After they moved to Santa Barbara in 1962, Mary made deep connections in the community and at the University--she
was always a fully engaged partner in Vernon's work. Mary felt a special connection with Davidson Library, and she was a
member of the Friends of the Library for many years. She chaired the group from 1988 until 1991. In 1994, she created the
Mary Low Cheadle Endowment for Special Collections. Her UCSB service also included membership on the UC Santa Barbara Foundation's
board of trustees, the University Art Museum Council, and the Faculty Women's Club. She was named an Honorary Alumna of UCSB
in 1990. After her husband died, Mary Cheadle established numerous gifts in his memory, including support for the University
Art Museum, the vocal music program, student athletes, and the Vernon and Mary Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological
Restoration, established in 2005.
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection complements the larger set of Cheadle papers, located in the University Archives in Davidson Library. Series
1 Professional Activities covers some of Cheadle's activities as Chancellor and Professor of Botany. The subseries Activities
as Chancellor contains both clippings and letters celebrating Cheadle becoming UCSB Chancellor in 1962, as well as materials
concerning his retirement. Academic Files contain notes, handouts, exercises, lab materials, and exams for several courses
taught by Cheadle at UC Davis mostly during the 1950s. Series 2 Research Activities forms the bulk of this collection. This
series documents Cheadle's plant anatomy research on the evolution of tracheary elements in monocotyledons as well as developmental
studies. It contains correspondence, notes, and data collected with colleagues Katherine Esau and Jennifer Thorsch. Series
3 Personal and Biographical Materials contains some of Mary Cheadle's college mementos, photographs of both Vernon and Mary,
and other items, such as diplomas. Series 4 Artifacts contains Vernon's athletic trophies, framed awards and plaques, personal
items such as pins and a watch, and scientific equipment, all of which are inventoried separately. Series 5 Photographs is
a large collection of plant anatomy images in several different formats. These items are not catalogued individually but
correspond to individual fluid plant specimens which have their own collection numbers and data.
Arrangement
The collection consists of five series: Series 1 Professional Activities, Series 2 Research Activities, Series 3 Personal
and Biographical Materials, Series 4 Artifacts and Series 5 Photographic Images.
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
Botanists--North America
Plant anatomy
Xylem
Cheadle, Vernon Irvin, 1910-
Cheadle, Mary Low
University of California, Santa Barbara
University of California, Davis
Photographs
Thorsch, Jennifer
Esau, Katherine
Other Finding Aids
See Guide to the Vernon Cheadle Collection 1929-1995, FACP 22, Special Collections, Davidson Library, UCSB.
Related Material
The main collection of Cheadle's papers as Chancellor are located at Davidson Library, Special Collections, UCSB. Research
conducted jointly by Cheadle, Katherine Esau, and Jennifer Thorsch can also be found at the Cheadle Center in the Esau Papers
and by contacting Thorsch.
Professional Activities
1947-1977
Activities as Chancellor
1962-1977
Box 3, Folder 1
Correspondence--Cheadle's Inauguration as Chancellor
1962
Box 3
Scrapbook--Inauguration of Vernon I. Cheadle, Chancellor
1962
Scope and Contents note
Scrapbook of photos, clippings, autographs of attendees to the inauguration, held September 21, 1962, and additional letters
from well wishers.
Box 3, Folder 2
Correspondence--Cheadle's Retirement
1977
Box 3
Bound Volume--Vernon and Mary Cheadle, on the occasion of their retirement
1977
Box 3, Folder 3-7
Botany Course Lecture Notes, UC Davis
1947-1952
Box 3, Folder 9
Botany Course Materials--Extra handouts
Box 3, Folder 11
Microtechnique Course Materials
Box 3
Discussion Manual: General Botany
. Vol. I by Vernon I. Cheadle and Elmer A. Palmatier, Rhode Island State College
1949
Box 3
Discussion Manual: General Botany
. Vol. II by Vernon I. Cheadle and Elmer A. Palmatier, Rhode Island State College
1950
Research Activities
1942-1995
Box 4, Folder 2
Herbarium Problem
1982-1994
Box 4, Folder 3
Jennifer Thorsch
1987-1994
Box 4, Folder 4
Esau, Huller, Evert--Esau Chair
1987-1990
Box 4, Folder 5
Barbara Uehling and Monocot Fund Reports
1988-1993
Box 4, Folder 6
Space Matters and Shirley Tucker
1995
Plant Anatomy Research Data and Publications
1961-1989
Box 4, Folder 8
List of Monocotyledons for Anatomical Investigation
1961-1984
Scope and Contents note
Includes correspondence with David Cutler and C.R. Metcalfe at Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Box 4, Folder 9
Plant Collection--Australia and So. Africa (incomplete)
Box 4, Folder 10
List of plants prepared for the study
1987
Box 4, Folder 11
Alismatales--AIBS, Amherst
1986
Box 4, Folder 14
Bromeliaceae--Alphabetical by Genus and Species
1991
Box 4, Folder 15
Bromeliaceae Checklists--Costa Rica and Willis
Box 4, Folder 17
Bromeliaceae Illustrations
1992
Box 4, Folder 18
Bromeliaceae--Current Working Papers
1992
Box 4, Folder 19
Bromeliaceae--Lists re: VIC Brom. Collections
1990-1992
Box 4, Folder 20
Lotusland--Bromeliad Genera
1989
Box 4, Folder 21
Bromeliaceae--Tables
1992
Box 4, Folder 22
Bromeliaceae--Hawaii Meetings
1992
Box 4, Folder 26
Marantaceae--Light Microscope Photos for Talk
1988
Box 4, Folder 28
Marantaceae--Chicago Lot
1988
Box 4, Folder 30
Nymphaeaceous [Genera]--Moseley
Box 4, Folder 32
Orchidaceae--Cypripedioideae
1992-1993
Box 4, Folder 34
Orchidaceae
1981
Scope and Contents note
Includes correspondence with D. D. Nautiyal.
Box 4, Folder 35
Spiranthoids--Computer Data
1993
Box 4, Folder 36
Spiranthoids
1991-1992
Scope and Contents note
Includes correspondence with William Stern.
Box 4, Folder 37
Xyridales Work Sheet
1981
Box 4, Folder 38
Zingiberaceae--Photos E, 1-5; F, 1-7 Group B
Box 4, Folder 39
Zingiberaceae--Group D for Renewal
Box 4, Folder 40
Zingiberaceae--Group E for Renewal
Box 4, Folder 41
Zingiberaceae--Group F for Renewal F 1-5
Box 4, Folder 42
Schlerenchyma Notes
c. 1980
Scope and Contents note
Represents research done by Vernon Cheadle, Jennifer Thorsch, and Debi Fisher.
Box 4, Folder 43
NSF Grant Report, Final Draft
1987
Box 4, Folder 44
Tracheary Elements in Apostasioideae (Apostaiaceae) of Orchidaceae
--BSA Meeting
1989
Box 4, Folder 45
Application of Scanning Electron Micrscopy to the Study of Vessels in Primitive Monocotyledons
Box 4, Folder 46
Tracheal Elements in Marantaceae
--BSA Meeting
1988
Personal and Biographical Materials
1932-2005
Box 4, Folder 47
Commencement Activities--Rhode Island College of Education
1936
Scope and Contents note
Includes invitations, programs and handwritten history of the Class of 1936, co-written by Mary Low (Cheadle).
Box 4
Yearbook, RICOLED vol. 8, Rhode Island College of Education
1936
Box 4, Folder 48
Photos of Vernon and Mary Cheadle
Box 4, Folder 49
Diplomas of Vernon Cheadle
Box 4, Folder 50
Certificates of Special Congressional Recognition Given to Mary Cheadle by Congresswoman Lois Capps
2000-2005
Box 1-2
Artifacts
Scope and Contents note
Personal items such as fraternity pins, a watch, and monogrammed belt buckle; scientific equipment and tools used in the lab
and in the field; trophies, plaques, and framed awards. Items inventoried separately.
Photographic Images
Scope and Contents note
This series represents images from most of Cheadle's career. Collection contents include: images of plant collecting trips
from the 1930s through the 1980s to such places as Cuba and Australia; plants in the wild and those he collected; and images
of plant tissue made from microscope slides. Formats include: black and white prints, glass lantern slides, glass negatives,
and 35mm color slides. The images were made on collecting trips, sabbaticals, for presentations, and for research and publication.
The photographs have only been inventoried to the file or box level.
