Drs. Howard Bigelow and Margaret Barr were mycologists (fungal specialists) on the faculty at the University of Massachusetts prior to their retirement. During their long careers, they amassed the country's most comprehensive collection of fungi from the northeast U.S. The University has decided to discontinue its mycology program, and has offered this important collection to the New York Botanical Garden. NYBG has absorbed several regional collections of cryptogams in the recent past, and is emerging as one of the world's premier repositories of fungal specimens. The proposed transfer of the University of Massachusetts mycology collections to the New York Botanical Garden will provide improved access to an important research resource. NYBG will integrate the new collection and will publish a catalog of the type specimens it contains, increasing the utilization of the collection for biodiversity research.
