Crane Hollow Inc. is donating a biological collection, featuring more than 120,000 natural specimens and approximately 11,000 different species and valued, conservatively at $2 million, to the Ohio University Museum Complex. The collection will be housed in The Ridge’s Lin Hall 211, which is being renovated with funding provided by Crane Hollow Inc. and Ohio University graduates Bernard (BSJ ’68, MEd ’73) and Patricia Gebhart (BFA ’68, MEd ’73).
Crane Hollow Inc. recently agreed to donate a unique biological collection to the Ohio University Museum Complex. The gift includes a $50,000 collection support fund, as well as a database that documents field notes, scientific illustrations and references, and other collection-related items.
“We are elated to partner with Crane Hollow Nature Preserve, and to receive this truly one-of-a-kind specimen collection,” says Nancy Stevens, professor in the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine who is spearheading University-wide efforts to develop the OHIO Museum Complex. “An all-taxon-biodiversity-index has tremendous research and creative value, offering a wealth of opportunities for education and outreach. Importantly, it provides significant potential for documenting environmental change through time.”
The collection includes more than 120,000 natural specimens—plants, fungi, insects, etc.—collected on and about the Crane Hollow Nature Preserve in Hocking County by Crane Hollow Research Associates Gary and Holly Coovert. The collection includes approximately 11,000 different species, many of them yet to be classified by scientists. A priceless resource representing thousands of hours of work, the collection has been valued, conservatively, at $2 million. Renovations currently are underway using donor-contributed funds to transform Lin Hall Room 211 into the collection’s new home on The Ridges.
Pictured is one of the rock formations within the Crane Hollow Nature Preserve in Hocking County, which is owned and conserved by Crane Hollow Inc. The preserve is where the natural specimens and species in the Crane Hollow collection were gathered over a 15-year period.
“Crane Hollow painstakingly assembled this impressive biological collection over a 15-year period and is entrusting Ohio University with a tremendous resource not only for scientists, researchers, and undergraduate and graduate students around the world, but also for our southeast Ohio community,” says Joseph Shields, vice president for research and creative activity and dean of the Graduate College. “Ohio University is grateful for the opportunity to preserve this important collection—the scope of which documents the region’s biodiversity. The Museum Complex will ensure that its potential is realized for scientific research as well as in educational programming that engages local k-12 students and classroom teachers.”
Developed in partnership with the Kennedy Museum of Art, the OHIO Museum Complex is transforming a storied piece of Athens history into an indoor-outdoor learning laboratory to foster interdisciplinary connection, collaboration, and education that highlights Ohio University’s natural history, creative activity, and innovation.
The expanded museum concept includes vibrant exhibit galleries, outdoor experiential learning on The Ridges trail systems, partnerships with the OHIO Observatory and the OHIO Land Laboratory, and expanded curatorial space to house pivotal collections from across campus and the region. The Konneker Fund for Learning and Discovery supported renovation of the Museum Complex’s first new gallery on the second floor of Lin Hall.
The Crane Hollow collection will constitute a second space for curation and research across the hall from the Konneker-funded gallery, continuing renovation within Lin Hall for museum expansion. In addition to support from Crane Hollow, OHIO graduates Bernard (BSJ ’68, MEd ’73) and Patricia Gebhart (BFA ’68, MEd ’73) are providing philanthropic support for the Museum Complex, and Innovation Strategy funds have been leveraged for developing the Outdoor Museum.
“The OHIO Museum Complex is expanding upon the excellence of the Kennedy Museum of Art to create exciting new possibilities to embrace topics connected to health, innovation and the biodiverse natural environment that Ohio University calls home,” says Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis. “With support from Crane Hollow and other generous donors, the OHIO Museum Complex will continue to bridge campus and community to connect art with science, wellness and the environment, cultivating interdisciplinary research, partnerships, and opportunities that enhance OHIO’s learning, research, and service missions.”
The Ohio University Foundation is the repository for all private gifts through annual giving programs, capital, and special campaigns and planned or deferred gifts. The Foundation is an institutionally related, non-profit, tax-exempt, 501c(3) organization. Each year, more than 20,000 alumni and friends make gifts to the Foundation to support students, faculty research and creative activity, innovative programs, select capital projects, and community partnerships.
Founded in 1980, Crane Hollow, Inc. is a 501c(3) private operating foundation that owns and conserves the Crane Hollow Nature Preserve. The Preserve is located in Hocking County, Ohio, and encompasses nearly 2,000 acres. The Crane Hollow Preserve is unique because of its size and pristine habitat that protects numerous rare plants and animals; therefore, access is limited. Additional information may be found at cranehollow.org .