Arlen Durant Davison was born on October 27, 1932. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Agronomy (1955) and Master of Science degree in Plant Pathology (1956) from the University of Wyoming, and a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Oregon State University (1961). Davison worked as an Extension plant pathologist at the University of Arizona from 1963 to 1967, before coming to Washington state in 1967, where his research focused on agricultural industries and urban gardening problems of western Washington. Davison initially was an Extension plant pathologist with the Western Washington Research and Extension Center (WWREC) in Puyallup; in 1974 he moved to Pullman as the State Extension Agriculture and Natural Resource Program Leader. From 1981 to 1986 he was the Chairman of the Department of Plant Pathology at WSU, and from 1986 to 1995 he served as the WWREC Superintendent and as Assistant Dean of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics (for the Puyallup, Mt. Vernon, Vancouver, and Long Beach units of WSU Extension). He retired in 1995, but returned briefly in 1997 to serve as interim Associate Director of the Agricultural Research Center. He also was a legislative liaison to the Washington State legislature from 1986 to 1999, and served on the Washington State Agricultural Pesticide Advisory Board. During his career, Dr. Davison established a Plant Disease Clinic with Dr. Roy Davison and helped found the Master Gardeners' clinics and volunteer program. In addition to several academic journal articles and nearly a hundred extension publications, he co-authored the book "How to Identify Rhododendron and Azalea Problems". Arlen Davison passed away in Pullman on July 12, 2021.
This collection contains professional papers of Arlen D. Davison, connected to his work with Washington State University Cooperative Extension (reports and research). It also contains correspondence (including responses by Dr. Davison to public inquiries about horticulture). It dates from 1971 to 1993, but no material from 1979 to 1985, which was primarily his non-Extension time while chair of Plant Pathology, is present.
The materials from 1971 to 1974 (boxes 1-2) are primarily outgoing correspondence while an Extension plant pathologist, often dealing with agriculture questions from the public. 1974 to 1978 (boxes 2-4) includes more administrative materials while he was State Extension Agriculture and Natural Resource Program Leader. The 1986 to 1993 materials (boxes 4-10) cover his tenure as WWREC Superintendent and as Assistant Dean of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics (for the Puyallup, Mt. Vernon, Vancouver, and Long Beach units of WSU).
The materials are retained in their original, chronological, order.
This collection is open and available for research use.
Copyright restrictions apply.
[Item description]
Arlen D. Davison Papers, 1971-1993 (Cage 948)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.
Arlen Davison donated his papers to the Washington State University Libraries’ Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC) on May 23, 1997, where it was retained as MS 1997-19.
University archivist Mark O’English processed this collection in January of 2022. A few pages of material were discarded when they touched on personnel issues, but otherwise the collection remains as it was when donated.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.