Archives West Finding Aid

This collection contains papers which represent Meyer Chessin’s education and career; these include correspondence, publications, research materials, teaching papers, service papers, and some audio-visual materials.

Series I, Correspondence, predominately contains professional correspondence and a small amount of personal correspondence. Correspondents include colleagues, publishers, politicians, government officials, scholarly organizations and businesses. Correspondence is arranged alphabetically by correspondent and chronologically by date.

Series II, Writings and Publications, contains scholarly research, civic and environmental publications. Over fifty publications were described at the item-level; the remaining publications and writings are unorganized. The organized publications in this series are arranged alphabetically.

Series III, Teaching Papers, contains papers from both undergraduate and graduate courses Chessin taught. These include lecture notes, exams, quizzes, reading materials, lab manuals, experiments, and correspondence regarding seminar speakers. There is one linear foot of papers, reports and assignments students prepared for Chessin’s courses.

Series IV, University and Academic Service Papers, contains papers from Chessin’s academic and University service. It is divided into two subseries: Subseries 1, General Service Papers and Subseries 2, Restricted Service Papers.

Subseries 1, General Service Papers, contains correspondence, reports, newsletters and meeting minutes. Chessin’s academic service materials include papers from scholarly organizations focused on plant pathology and photobiology. There are also materials from national and international conferences and symposiums. University service papers include: Faculty Senate and committee meeting minutes and correspondence; University and Botany department correspondence, memos and curriculum reviews; Chessin’s service record; formal requests for sabbatical leave; and University news releases noting Chessin’s achievements. The faculty committees represented in the subseries are the Budget and Policy Committee, the Executive Committee, the Faculty Benefits Committee, the Faculty Research Advisory Committee and the Hazards Radiation Committee. One folder contains correspondence and records of Joseph Kramer, an early Botany faculty member and dates from 1930-1977. This subseries is organized alphabetically.

Subseries 2, Restricted Service papers, contains restricted papers from the Faculty Appeals Committee, student advisees, faculty searches and an age discrimination complaint. This series is restricted.

Series V, Research Papers, contains articles, correspondence, notes, research data, grant and fellowship applications and research proposals and reports. Chessin’s research subjects included cactus viruses and hosts, photobiology, photo reactivation, selenium, spiderwort and radiation. His records regarding foreign travel and foreign research collaboration are included in this collection. This series also contains research Chessin completed for his doctorial dissertation. This series is arranged alphabetically.

Series VI, Civic and Environmental Service Papers, contains articles, clippings, correspondence, reports, newsletters, meeting minutes, and reports about social and environmental topics. These topics include: militarism, nuclear weapons, radiation, disarmament, hazardous waste, herbicides and pesticides, solid waste management and recycling. Records of the Western Montana Scientists Committee for Public Information (WMSCPI) and the solid waste workshops it sponsored are included in this series. This series contains correspondence with politicians and government officials regarding military and environmental topics. This collection also contains Chessin’s preparatory notes and articles for his testimony about 2,4,5-T before the EPA, Office of Hazardous Materials Control. This series is arranged alphabetically.

Series VII, College Papers, contains papers from Chessin’s time as a student at UCLA and UC-Berkeley. These include class notes, papers, drawings, research notes. This series is organized alphabetically.

Series VIII, Miscellaneous Papers, contains unidentified handwritten notes, clippings, a map, a calendar, and supplier information. This series is organized alphabetically.

Series IX, Photographs and Slides, contains photographs, negatives, photographic slides and specimen slides. Subjects include Cactus Virus, BARD, King Cole’s Hole, herbicide’s effects on animals and plant species at an unidentified botanical garden. There are audio cassettes that accompany the King Cole’s Hole slides and herbicide’s effects on animals negatives.