Guide to the Brown University Corporation minutes and reports, 1869-2001


John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Published in 2013

Collection Overview

Title: Brown University Corporation minutes and reports
Date range: 1869-2001
Creator: Brown University. Corporation.
Extent: 24.0 Linear feet
Abstract: The Brown University Corporation Minutes and Reports contains minutes of Corporation meetings (1939-2001), minutes of the Advisory and Executive Committees (1929-1994), and reports produced by the Advisory and Executive Committee (1869-1992).
Language of materials: English
Repository: John Hay Library , Special Collections
Collection number: OF.1B.1

Scope & content

The Brown University Corporation minutes and reports contains materials dated from 1869 to 2001. They have been organized into five series, each arranged by date. The first series comprises Corporation minutes, dated from 1939 to 1997. The remaining series consist of records of the Advisory and Executive Committee. These materials include minutes (1925-2001), reports (1869-1992), and a journal (1925-1926).

Access Points

Subject Organizations Subject Topics Document Types Subject Topics

Arrangement

The Brown University Corporation Minutes and Reports are organized in five series:

  • Series I. Corporation minutes
  • Series II. Advisory and Executive Committee minutes
  • Series III. Advisory and Executive Committee minutes, 1942-1994
  • Series IV. Advisory and Executive Committee reports
  • Series V. Unprocessed accessions

The authority and responsibilities of the Corporation, a bicameral body composed of a Board of Fellows with twelve members and a Board of Trustees with forty-two, are set forth in the Charter of the University granted by the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations in 1764. "It is our fixed star; we can do nothing that contradicts its prohibitions or transgresses its grants of power," states Henry Wriston in The Structure of Brown University.

The Charter originally provided for a twelve-member Board of Fellows and a Board of Trustees of thirty-six1. It provided further that eight of the Fellows should always be Baptists and the rest "indifferently of any or all denominations." The President was always to be a Fellow and always a Baptist. Of the thirty-six Trustees, the Charter provided that twenty-two should be Baptists, five Quakers, four Congregationalists, and five Episcopalians.

In 1926 the Charter was amended to provide for six additional Trustees, bringing the Board of Trustees to its present number of forty-two. These six were to be elected "without regard to denominational or religious affiliations." At the same time the qualification that the President must be a Baptist was removed. In 1942 a further amendment to the Charter removed all denominational qualifications for service on the Corporation.

Of the 42 trustees, 14 are elected by alumni pursuant to an agreement between the Corporation and the Alumni Association. These 14 trustees include the current and two past Brown Alumni Association chairs, and eleven others elected to six year terms. The rest of the Trustees, called Term Trustees, are nominated by the Committee on Trustee Vacancies. Careful selection of internally appointed trustees and those elected through the alumni ensures that Corporation members have the professional and personal backgrounds needed to meet their fiduciary and oversight responsibilities.

Access & Use

Access to the collection: Researchers should take note that Corporation records are restricted for 50 years from the date of the record's creation. Minutes of business meetings held subsequent to July 1, 2009 shall remain closed to researchers for a period of twenty-five (25) years from the date of the record’s creation.
Use of the materials: Although Brown University has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim literary rights. Researchers should note that compliance with copyright law is their responsibility. Researchers must determine the owners of the literary rights and obtain any necessary permissions from them.
Preferred citation: Brown University Corporation Minutes and Reports, OF.1B.1, Brown University Archives.
Contact information: John Hay Library , Special Collections
Box A
Brown University
Providence, RI 02912
Tel: 401-863-2146
email: hay@brown.edu

Administrative Information

ABOUT THE COLLECTION  
ABOUT THE FINDING AID  
Author: Finding aid prepared by Brown University Library staff.
Encoding: This finding aid was produced using the Archivists' Toolkit 2013 December 14
Descriptive rules: Finding aid based on Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)
Sponsor: Processing funded by a grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

Additional Information

Inventory


Series I. Corporation minutes, 1939-1997

Container Description Date
Box 1
1939-1944
Box 2
1945-1947
Box 3
1948-1950
Box 4
1951-1953
Box 5
1953-1956
Box 6
1956-1957
Box 7
1958-1960
Box 8
1960-1962
Box 9
1963-1964
Box 10
1965-1966
Box 11
1966-1967
Box 12
1968-1969
Box 13
1969-1970
Box 14
1971-1972
Box 15
1972-1973
Box 16
1973-1974
Box 17
1975
Box 18
1976
Box 19
1977-1978
Box 20
1978-1979
Box 21
1980-1981
Box 22
1981-1986
Box 23
1987-2001

Series II. Advisory and Executive Committee minutes, 1925-1940

Container Description Date
Box 24
1908-1913
Box 25
1929-1932
Box 26
1933-1938
Box 27
1938-1940

Series III. Advisory and Executive Committee minutes, 1942-1994

Container Description Date
Box 28
1942-1956
Box 29
1956-1964
Box 30
1964-1968
Box 31
1968-1974
Box 32
1974-1977
Box 33
1977-1980
Box 34
1980-1985
Box 35
1985-1990
Box 36
1990-1994

Series IV. Advisory and Executive Committee reports, 1930-1992

Container Description Date
Box 37
1869-1909
Box 38
1930-1944
Box 39
1945-1959
Box 40
1960-1977
Box 41
1971, 1978-1992

Series V. Additions, 1925-2001

Container Description Date
Box 42 Advisory and Executive Committee minutes
1968-1974
Box 42 Advisory and Executive Committee reports
1990-2001
Box 43 Advisory and Executive Committee journal
1925-1926