Andrew Greller Papers

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: SCA-0061

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

This collection documents Dr. Andrew Greller’s contributions to ecologically minded organizations, among them the New York Botanical Garden, Udall’s Wildlife Preserve, Alley Pond Environmental Center, the Northeastern Queens Nature and Historical Preserve Commission, and the North Shore Land Alliance. A smaller quantity of materials document Greller’s role as an instructor, including interactions with students and coursework he developed. The collection also contains correspondence between Greller and biologists from all over the country and even internationally. Additionally, there are materials related to Greller’s time in Sri Lanka as a Fulbright scholar.

Many of the documents in this collection highlight Greller’s involvement in local nature conservation. Greller was active in efforts to preserve land in Queens, Long Island, and Staten Island, particularly an area Greller himself termed the "Terminal Moraine Natural Area System" located by the Grand Central Parkway and Pea Pond, between Alley Park and Cunningham Park, an area that was negatively impacted due to the widening of the Grand Central Parkway for the 1964 World’s Fair.

The dates of the collection range from the late 1960s up until the 2000s. Items included consist of newspaper clippings, photographs, negatives, slides, awards received, correspondence/professional papers, two scrapbooks, and a painted "Save the Park" poster.

Dates

1962 - 2002

Creator

Greller, Andrew (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Appointments to examine materials must be made in advance. Please e-mail QC.archives@qc.cuny.edu for more information or to schedule an appointment.

Conditions Governing Use

Reproductions may be provided to users to support research and scholarship. However, collection use is subject to all copyright laws. The responsibility to secure copyright permission rests with the patron.

Biographical Note

Dr. Andrew Greller, born March 18, 1941, is a Professor Emeritus of Biology at Queens College, City University of New York (CUNY) and a native New Yorker. He earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1967 and was on the teaching faculty at Queens College from 1967-1998, teaching courses on botany, ecology and bioclimatology at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has studied vegetation in areas all over the world and has published work in numerous scientific journals, including the American Journal of Botany and the Botanical Gazette. He has been the recipient of several National Science Foundation awards and received a Fulbright Senior Lectureship in 1980, which took him to Sri Lanka and the botany department of the University of Perideniya.

Greller has been involved in a number of societies, among them the Torrey Botanical Society, the Long Island Botanical Society, and the now decommissioned New York State Commission on Natural and Historical Conservation in Northeastern Queens. He has been active in local land conservation efforts since the late 1960s and has applied his unique knowledge of the local flora and fauna as talking points and justifications for the preservation of local park land.

Notably, Greller submitted proposals to city officials to conserve Pea Pond, an area between two parks in northern Queens, and proposed the addition of nature trails. His article "Persisting Natural Vegetation in Northern Queens County, New York, With Proposals For Its Conservation," appeared in the international quarterly journal Environmental Conservation in 1971.

Greller has given numerous scientific and popular talks on a wide range of botanical and ecological topics, from forest types to vegetation and plant habitats. He continues to conduct original research, lead field trips and present lectures, and is active in ecologically minded organizations.

Extent

3 Linear Feet (3 document cases, plus awards stored in flat file)

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection documents the work of Dr. Andrew Greller, Professor Emeritus of Biology at Queens College, and most notably his contributions to local land conservation efforts. Materials include photographs, negatives, slides, newspaper clippings, correspondence, professional papers, awards and scrapbooks.

Arrangement

Arranged in 6 series: Scrapbooks, 1970-1999; Correspondence, 1965-2002; Photographs, 1980-1988; Professional and Personal Papers, 1989-2000; News Clippings, 1970-1998; Awards, 1962-1996.