Mr. William Schmidt (Buffalo State, Art Education, 1950), the creator of art designs on plastic covers for commercial products contained in plastic, requested that his special art work be deposited in the Buffalo State College E. H. Butler Library's Special Collections. He helped to set up the Schmidt and Eckert Award, offering several scholarships annually to Art Education majors at State University of New York at Buffalo. The William Schmidt Collection in boxes one and two includes samples of plastic pieces that he did as freelance designer and information about many of the accounts that he worked on. They also contain many sketches and drawings of his designs. The collection also includes original artwork by Mr. Schmidt, including sketches and paper and ink drawings depicting his experiences during the Second World War. Articles, biographical information, and memorabilia can be found in boxes three and four.

Dr. William H. Tallmadge (1916-2004), Professor of Music and charter member of the Sonneck Society (now the Society for American Music). Dr. Tallmadge taught music at Buffalo State College from 1949-1976, specializing in jazz and American folk music. Indeed, he developed the first course for credit in the United States on the history of jazz. Dr. Tallmadge's work is especially notable for the attention he paid to recording and studying African American church music of the early 20th century, though it is believed that none of these recordings are maintained within this collection. Dr. Tallmadge continued to teach at Berea College after his retirement from Buffalo State College.