Poet (numerous books from Worn Earth, 1932), editor of the O. Henry Prize Stories, 1954-1959, director of the Iowa Writers' Workshop, 1941-1967, and co-founder and director of the International Writers' Program, 1967-1976 at the University of Iowa. Literary manuscripts, correspondence, subject files, and student works documenting his career as a writer and teacher.

Television and film writer, producer and director. 26 episodes of Galidor, an action series for children sponsored by Lego Media International and the Disney network; 13 episodes of Scout's Safari, an action-adventure series for young people set and shot in South Africa; materials relating to The Listener, for which Chehak served as an Executive Producer, shot in Toronto.