William Isaac Chamberlain was born in Sharon, Connecticut in 1837. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Ohio where he attended Western Reserve College (Case Western Reserve University) and upon graduation (1859) was appointed instructor in Greek. After six years, Dr. Chamberlain returned to his family's farm and proceeded to study and conduct agricultural experiments related to farm fertilizers, drainage, and crop rotation. He published his studies in agricultural journals and became widely known for his investigations of agricultural issues. Dr. Chamberlain was elected State Secretary of Agriculture of Ohio (1880-1886) and was instrumental in setting up Farmers' Institutes in every county of the state.

Dr. Chamberlain's reputation was well-known when he became the fourth President (1886-1890) of Iowa State College (Iowa State University). However, Dr. Chamberlain's presidency was a turbulent one. He regularly defended the college's curriculum which was often criticized by local citizens for not focusing enough on agriculture. On campus, many students opposed fraternities due to their secretive and exclusionary nature. Thus, his backing of student fraternities would eventually cost him the support of most of the students. He never did gain the favor of the faculty. Dr. Chamberlain resigned in 1890 and moved back to his Ohio farm where he continued to conduct agricultural experiments as well as write and lecture on agricultural issues. He served on the Board of Trustees of The Ohio State University and the Ohio Experiment Station and became Associate Editor of the Ohio Farmer and the National Stockman and Farmer.

William Chamberlain married Lucy Jones Marshall on July 16, 1863 and they had six children. Dr. Chamberlain died on June 30, 1920, in Cleveland, Ohio.

The collection contains biographical information, correspondence, and inauguration programs. The correspondence includes letters between Chamberlain and Edgar Stanton, a member of Iowa State's first graduating class (1872) as well as a faculty member of Iowa State. Also included are materials concerning the student disturbance of 1888 resulting from student opposition to fraternities.

The collection is organized alphabetically.