One half-time graduate student curatorial assistantship provides essential assistance to the curators and collection manager and gives the student an excellent background in curatorial procedures in herpetology. In 1947, the university acquired a tract of 590 acres 7 miles northeast of Lawrence. This tract became the Natural History Reservation. The following year Henry S. Fitch joined the faculty as an assistant professor and superintendent of the reservation. In their capacities, they and Fitch have maintained a strong graduate program in herpetology.
Doctoral dissertations reflect a wide variety of research carried out in many parts of the world.