These records chiefly document the role of NMNH in the organization and programs of the Association of Systematics Collections (ASC) during the tenures of the Directors
Richard Sumner Cowan, 1969-1973; Porter M. Kier, 1973-1979; and Richard S. Fiske, 1980-1982. The ASC was established on July 7, 1972 to foster the care, management, preservation,
and improvement of systematics collections and to facilitate their utilization in science and society.
The records include correspondence, memoranda, reports, meeting materials, constitution and by-laws, and publications. They concern the initial discussions for a national
program for systematics; the organization and incorporation of ASC; meetings and symposia of ASC; and Kier's service as ASC Vice-President. Also included are a few files documenting
NMNH relations with the American Institute of Biological Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
