Gilkey, who received her bachelor's and master's degrees from OAC (1907 and 1911), was curator of the herbarium from 1918 to 1951. In 1915 she was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in botany from the University of California, Berkeley. She also served as professor of botany at Oregon State and was an accomplished botanical illustrator and author, best known for her research on truffles. OSU’s Herbarium was established in the early 1880s. At the time of this photo, the Herbarium was located on the third floor of what is now Strand Agriculture Hall. Today it is located in Cordley Hall, contains more than 405,000 vascular plant, bryophyte, algal and fungal specimens, and is comprised of collections from OSU, the University of Oregon, and Willamette University.