This collection contains the papers of Sanford Brennel Fenne, a plant pathologist with the Virginia Agricultural Extension Service at Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College and Polytechnic Institute (VPI; later Virginia Tech) from 1939 to 1967. The collection includes correspondence, writings, personal records, printed materials, photographs, a scrapbook compiled during Fenne's years as a student at VPI, and a photo album compiled during Fenne's year (1943-1944) of cooperative agricultural work in Brazil.

The small selection of correspondence relates largely to routine personal matters and to details regarding Fenne's career and health. Included is a letter from B. C. Cubbage, VPI's football coach, about team practice sessions and a letter from Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs Nelson Rockefeller, acknowledging Fenne's resignation from the Food Supply Division. Also relating to Fenne's life, health, career, and retirement are separate folders containing an assortment of documents (school records, forms, letters, certificates, and newspaper clippings). Among these are several newspaper clippings about VPI's Plant Disease Clinic. The collection also contains an assortment of Fenne's writings, including his unfinished dissertation and several pieces relating to agriculture in Brazil and Virginia.

Among the photographs in the collection are several images from Fenne's 1967 retirement, as well as images from his student years at VPI, including class portraits, athletic and other groups, and snapshots. More photos from Fenne's student years may be found in a scrapbook that includes images of cadets on drill, on march, in parade, and in encampment; snowball fights; "rat parades" (including two that picture Tek Heung Fung, an early international student from China); campus scenes; and scenes of Blacksburg and the surrounding area, including Blacksburg High School, Mountain Lake, the Huckleberry Railroad, Yellow Sulphur Springs, and Nellie's Cave. The scrapbook also contains such ephemera as school forms, event programs, tickets, and receipts. A large photo album, titled "1943-1944 Activities of the Comissão Brasileiro-Americana Cera, Piaui, Maranhão, completes the collection and includes photos of Brazilian farms and farmers, as well as personal snapshots.