Paul M. Dunn Papers, 1916-1988

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Dunn, Paul M.
Title
Paul M. Dunn Papers
Dates
1916-1988 (inclusive)
Quantity
2.1 cubic feet
Collection Number
Consult repository.
Summary
The Dunn Papers document the professional activities of Paul M. Dunn, Dean of Forestry at Oregon State College from 1942 to 1955.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Paul M. Dunn served as Dean of Forestry at Oregon State College from 1942 until 1955, when he joined the St. Regis Paper Company. Dunn was instrumental in obtaining the 6200-acre Adair Tract for teaching and research and it was subsequently named the Paul M. Dunn Research Forest in his honor. In 1952-53, Dunn assisted in establishing a school of forest engineering at the University of Chile.

Dunn was born 15 October 1898 in Lennox, South Dakota. He earned BS and MSF degrees in forestry from Iowa State College in 1923 and 1933. From 1926 until 1931, he was associate state forester in Missouri. Dunn became a forestry professor at Utah State College in 1931 and in 1938 became the first Dean of Forestry at that institution, a position he held until 1942. Dunn retired from St. Regis in 1968 and returned to Corvallis where he lived until his death on 8 January 1988.

Dunn received the Iowa State University Alumni Association's Distinguished Achievement Award in 1968, the Society of American Foresters' Gifford Pinchot Award in 1975, and the Utah State University's Centennial Award in 1987.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Paul M. Dunn Papers include two scrapbooks; correspondence received from friends and colleagues; awards, certificates, plaques, diplomas, and medallions; his master's thesis; photographs; and materials pertaining to his work in Missouri and in Chile.

The scrapbooks include b/w and color photographs as well as clippings and memorabilia documenting Paul Dunn's professional activities and his family. Notable items include photographs of the Paul M. Dunn Demonstration Forest owned by St. Regis Paper Company near Pensacola Florida; groundbreaking for the Western Forestry Center in Portland, Oregon in 1969; a 1946 photograph of the Corvallis Rotary Club at the Oregon coast showing many OSC faculty and alumni including Paul Petri, Fred Shideler, Ralph Coleman, Slats Gill, and E.E. Wilson; and 1980 newspaper clippings about Donna Byrne, the first woman to receive the Paul M. Dunn Award presented to the top senior in the OSU College of Forestry.

The correspondence consists primarily of congratulatory letters received at the time Dunn was appointed to new positions or received awards. Of particular note are letters from Oregon State College faculty and administrators, including former Dean of Forestry George W. Peavy, sent at the time of his appointment as Dean of Forestry at Oregon State College in 1942.

The photographs include images of Dunn; his wife, Neva K. Dunn; groups at conferences and meetings; and Dunn with forestry students in Chile. Of especial note is a 1949 image of George W. Peavy with Dunn.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Paul M. Dunn Papers, Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Processing Note

Several of the awards, certificates, and photographs have been kept in their original frames at the request of the donor because they may be displayed by the College of Forestry. They may be removed from the frames in the future.

Related Materials

The College of Forestry Records (RG 139) include materials pertaining to Dunn's years as Dean. Other forestry-related collections include the George W. Peavy Papers and the Walter F. McCulloch Collection. The OSU Research Forests published an oral history of Paul M. Dunn in 1990.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Scrapbooks, 1916-1965Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
1
Original
1920-1965
1
Photocopy
Photocopy includes 1916 image not in original above.
1916-1965
2
apx 16x20 in.
1965-1985

Thesis, 1933Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
1
A Study of Some Forest Tree Plantings on Agricultural Lands and Watershed Areas in Utah Showing Methods of Reforestation and First Results, MS Thesis, Iowa State College
1933

Letters received, 1931-1986Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
1
OSU resignation
1954
1
Society of American Foresters presidency
1961-1962
1
Society of American Foresters fellow
1959
1
St. Regis vice-president
1962
1
At close of term as Society of American Foresters president
1963-1964
1
Retirement from St. Regis
1967
1
Utah State University centennial award
1986
1
Miscellaneous
1931-1968

Awards, 1920-1988Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
1
Gifford Pinchot Award
1975
Plaques
Box
3
Appreciation as chairman, Education Committee, American Forest Products Industries, Inc.
ca. 1962
3
Appreciation of outstanding service, Southern Pulpwood Conservation Association
1965
3
OSU Presidents Club Founding Members
1968
3
Western Forestry Award, Western Forestry and Conservation Association
1971
3
American Forestry Associtaion Appreciation
ca. 1972
3
Fellow, Foresty History Society
1972
3
Pinchot Award plaque
1975
3
Benton County YMCA Century Club
1975
3
Award for Distinguished Service, Keep Oregon Green Association
ca. 1979
3
Boy Scouts of America, Oregon Trail Council Century Club Member
1972-1981
3
President of Gulf Pine, Inc.
1963-1981
3
Old Main Society, Utah State University
undated
4
Awards and certificates (framed)
apx 20x24 in.
1986-1987
2
Medallions
apx 16x20 in.
ca. 1975-1988
2
Certificates, awards, and diplomas
apx 16x20 in.
1920-1983
Utah State University
Box
2
Centennial Award
apx 16x20 in.
1988
2
Old Main Society
apx 16x20 in.
1973

Missouri Department of Agriculture, 1931-1953Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1

University of Chile, 1952-1953Return to Top

Container(s): Box 1

Photographs, 1942-ca. 1973Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
4
Pencil drawing of Paul M. Dunn and Neva K. Dunn
apx 20x24 in.
framed
ca. 1973
2
Paul M. Dunn and Neva K. Dunn
apx 16x20 in.
3 framed prints
ca. 1965
5
Iowa State University Reunion Class of 1923
1968.
5
AFA Group
ca. 1956.
5
Oregon Forest Products Laboratory Staff
Front row (l to r): Hugh Wilcox, Murl Peterson, Bruce Anderson, James Holden. Center row (l to r): Paul Dunn, Phimister Proctor, Ervin Kurth, Mortimer Macdonald, Leif Espenas. Back row (l to r): Bruce Wagg, Robert Stillinger, Maurice Gekeler, Robert Graham, William Baker.
1949
5
Paul Dunn at SPCA meeting in Atlanta, Georgia
1965.
5
Group at World Forestry Congress
1960.
5
Paul Dunn, President of Society of American Foresters, presenting award to R.E. McCardle
1962.
5
St. Regis foresters
1963.
5
Group at AFA
1962.
5
St. Regis Forestry and timberlands tour; Tacoma, Washington
1965.
5
George W. Peavy and Paul M. Dunn
1949.
5
Paul Dunn at desk
ca. 1942.
5
Committee meeting at OSU
1971.
5
Maine forestry dinner
1966.
5
Dunn with Chilean students
3 prints
1952-1953
6
Portrait photograph of Dunn
apx 12x17 in.
ca. 1965.

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Experimental forests--Florida.
  • Forestry schools and education--Chile.
  • Forestry schools and education--Oregon--Corvallis.

Personal Names

  • Dunn, Paul M.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon State College. School of Forestry.
  • Western Forestry Center (Portland, Or.)

Form or Genre Terms

  • Masters theses.
  • Photographs.
  • Scrapbooks.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Dunn, Paul M. (creator)
    • Peavy, George Wilcox, 1869-1951. (creator)