PHOTOGRAPHER DONATES COLLECTION OF 10,000 SLIDES VALUED AT $100,000 TO UA DEPARTMENT

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. --Emily Johnson, who spent more than 30 years photographing mushrooms and other fungi in Pennsylvania and eastern North America, has donated her collection of 10,000 slides valued at $100,000 to the Department of Biological Sciences in Fulbright College at the University of Arkansas.

Steve Stephenson, a research professor in the department, accepted the slides on behalf of the u niversity. He has known Johnson for nearly 20 years and worked with her on several mushroom-related projects while he lived in West Virginia. Stephenson moved to Arkansas this past September.

"These slides represent a tremendous educational resource for our students," said Stephenson. "Any field guide to mushrooms in North America is likely to have some of her images in it. Some amateur mycologists have already been in touch with me, asking if they might borrow slides for educational projects."

Johnson's work is well known throughout the community of amateur and professional scientists who study fungi. Her slides have appeared in "The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Mushrooms" and "Edible Poisonous Mushrooms of the World," in which one of her photographs was used to illustrate the front cover. Several years ago, several dozens of her photographs were used as illustrations for a set of postcards sold as a book by Dover Publications. Throughout her career, Johnson won awards in photography competitions, including the annual competition held by the North American Mycological Association. She is now retired and living in Pennsylvania.

"In addition to using her slides in some of our courses, they will appear in a forthcoming book on mushrooms associated with oak trees in the forests of eastern North America," said Stephenson.