The Margaret H. Fulford Herbarium

The herbarium was spearheaded by Cincinnati natives, Dr. Margaret H. Fulford and Dr. E. Lucy Braun, who were both internationally recognized pioneers in the field of botany. Dr. Fulford became the first herbarium curator and held the position for nearly fifty years. Her expertise was in South American liverworts, and subsequently, around half of the collection is comprised of bryophyte specimens. As a whole, herbarium specimens serve as tangible documentation of the world's flora over the centuries. Traditionally, these collections are used in taxonomic research and mapping of floras by regions, but since digitization and the era of big data, specimens have also been utilized in tracking climate change, invasive species, and pollution levels over time. As such, the herbarium serves as a repository for both historic and current botanical data that is accessible to the biology department as well as the broader scientific community.

Currently, the opportunities for student involvement include volunteer work or undergraduate research credit, where students can develop curatorial skills in a natural history collection. Additionally, capstone is also available for credit.