Making Donations in Memory of Others

Making Donations in Memory of Others

An anonymous donor to the University of Wyoming has made several donations to UW Libraries in memory of H.T. Northen, who came to UW in 1936 and was a professor in the Botany department, then became head of the Department of Botany and Forestry.

It is the donor’s way of honoring the memory and legacy of a great individual. It creates a lasting tribute and is a way to impact students through the Dean’s Fund, which benefits various areas of the library.

“Donations to the Dean’s Fund are used at the discretion of the dean, but among other things, those funds help to fund programs for library employee support and to continue to grow friends of UW Libraries,” says Nancy Marlatt, coordinator of area public relations for the UW Libraries. “These programs, which normally are not funded otherwise, help increase library employee morale, community relations, and ultimately make for a better library for our students.”

This donor (and others who donate to UW Libraries) is recognized for the contribution by receiving an electronic book plate, which shows that it was made in honor of Professor Northen.

Making a donation to the library in honor of Professor Northen is a memorial to the contribution he has to the world of reading and education. His book, Introductory Plant Science (Ronald Press Company, 1958), was an authoritative textbook used by universities around the country.

He also cowrote books with his wife Rebecca, including Ingenious Kingdom: The Remarkable World of Plants (Prentice-Hall, 1970), Greenhouse Gardening (John Wiley & Sons Inc., 1973), and The Secret of the Green Thumb (Ronald Press Company, 1954). These were general-audience trade paperbacks that highlighted the couple’s success in gardening in Wyoming and allowed others to learn from their experiences.

Professor Northen has had many gifts made in his memory, including the establishment of an endowment. The H.T. Northen Summer Fellowship in Botany was created by a fellow faculty member, Martha Christensen, in 2000. Since then, friends, colleagues, and family members have contributed in his memory.

The H.T. Northen Summer Fellowship in Botany was created to support the summer research of graduate students in botany or mycology at the University of Wyoming with preference given to individuals supported as teaching assistants in the immediately preceding academic year.

The secondary purpose is to support individuals who have received their doctoral or master’s degrees in the Department of Botany at UW and who need summer financial assistance for further collaboration with departmental faculty. The allowable expenses are those related directly to the research, including salary stipends.

Professor Northen received his Ph.D. from the University of California. He was a Fellow of the American Associations for the Advancement of Science, as well as a member of the Botanical Society of America and the American Society of Plant Physiologists.

Professor Northen made an impact on the people around him. His legacy lives on through the donations made by his friends, family, and coworkers, and that creates opportunities for students, who in turn will make an impact on Wyoming and the world.

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