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
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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
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Repository: |
John Hay Library
, Special Collections
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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 |
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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
Series II. Advisory and Executive Committee minutes, 1925-1940
Series III. Advisory and Executive Committee minutes, 1942-1994
Series IV. Advisory and Executive Committee reports, 1930-1992
Series V. Additions, 1925-2001
Box 42 |
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Advisory and Executive Committee minutes
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1968-1974 |
Box 42 |
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Advisory and Executive Committee reports
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1990-2001 |
Box 43 |
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Advisory and Executive Committee journal
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1925-1926 |