Dates

• Majority of material found within 1950 - 1992

Extent

5 boxes Linear Feet (Dr. Donald J. Ballas (July 28, 1930-August 24, 1992) was a Professor of Geography in the Department of Geography and Regional Planning at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP) from 1961-1992. His parents were Joseph G. and Clara Mae Fenton Ballas. Donald J. Ballas earned his BS from Clarion State College in 1952. He was an airman in the Korean War, and after four years of service in the United States Air Force, he worked as a Reference Librarian and Geography Instructor at the University of Pittsburgh while completing requirements for his MA in Geography and Anthropology/Sociology (1958). Dr. Ballas later earned his PhD in Geography at the University of Nebraska (1970). Among his published works on Native Americans are Notes on the population settlement and ecology of the Eastern Cherokee Indians (1960) and The livelihood of the Eastern Cherokee (1962). He was actively involved in the Indiana County Humane Society, the Association of American Geographers, and he served on the editorial boards of Geographical Survey and the Journal of Geography. He was a member of the honorary geography society Gamma Theta Upsilon and the Society for Aerospace Education. Upon his retirement from IUP in 1992, Dr. Ballas was awarded the status of Emeritus Professor for his 31 years of service. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery. This collection contains Dr. Ballas' personal correspondence, articles by Ballas, research material on Native Americans and some other miscellaneous classroom material. The collection dates from 1962 to 1979. Upon his death, Dr. Ballas' wife Barbara LeQuieu Ballas and their sons donated the contents of this collection to IUP Special Collections and University Archives.)

Language of Materials

English