Board of Trustees, 1895+ | Northern Illinois University

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Collection Overview

Title: Board of Trustees, 1895+

Predominant Dates:1895-

ID: RHC/UA/03/

Extent: 21.5 Linear Feet

Date Acquired: 00/00/1960

Scope and Contents of the Materials

These records are divided into five record series, but two deserve special mention. Series I contains the by-laws, policies and regulations which govern the board's activities. Also included are biennial reports and proceedings of meetings detailing actions taken by the board. Series II comprises the Executive Officers Reports. These reports include an update on the Board of Regents office personnel and record information on union negotiations, enrollment, class size, internal budgets, faculty teaching loads, payroll procedures, and institutional development. The next two series comprise reports, budgets, committee records, and publications. Series V contains material on the Board of Trustees established in 1995. The Board of Regents “Commemorative Report 1967 -1995" is located in Box 1. Researchers using this collection should also look at the “President’s Report to the Board” (1932-) found in UA 4, President’s Office Records (boxes 347-352).

Collection Historical Note

Governor John Altgeld appointed a Board of Trustees for the proposed Northern Illinois State Normal School in 1895. The board's responsibilities included appointing instructors, fixing their salaries, and defining their duties as well as removing any faculty after giving ten days notice of the charge against them and an opportunity for defense. In addition, the Board decided on the text books, apparatus, and furniture to be used in the school and made regulations necessary for managing the institution. In July, 1917, the Illinois Senate reorganized Northern's Board of Trustees and the boards of the other four State Normal Schools in the state into a single Normal School Board. The Normal School presidents disliked the new Normal School Board because it increased bureaucratic "red tape." The presidents' grievances included the lengthy preparation of financial forms, difficulties in the civil service regulations, and delays in the construction of buildings. Under the old boards, the presidents had more administrative control; they could use various fees to pay bills, meet emergencies, and raise salaries without listing it in the budget or securing board approval. Unfortunately, the presidents' complaints came to naught; the board's powers increased over the years. In 1941, the Normal School Board became the Teachers College Board in an effort to reflect the new teachers college status of the Normal Schools. The name changed again in 1965 to the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities. On July 1, 1967 Northern Illinois University, Illinois State University, and Sangamon State University came under the jurisdiction of a newly created Board of Regents. This board, as with previous governing agencies, was empowered to approve or disapprove any actions taken by the Universities to alter faculty, curricula, facilities, or budget. This Board for the three Universities was dissolved at the end of 1995. Starting on January 1, 1996 Northern Illinois University established its own Board of Trustees to govern its activities.

Administrative Information

Repository: Northern Illinois University

Access Restrictions: There are no restrictions on access to the records.

Acquisition Source: Board of Regents/ Trustees

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series I.: By-Laws, Governing Policies, Regulations, and Proceedings],
[Series II.: Executive Officers Records],
[Series III.: Reports, Budgets, and Committee and Council Records],
[Series IV.: Publications],
[Series V.: Board of Trustees, 1995 -],
[All]

Series I.: By-Laws, Governing Policies, Regulations, and Proceedings

Box 1

Folder 1: Senate Bill Number 2 Establishing Northern, 1895
Folder 2: Annual Report; Boehm Litigation, 1895-1896; 1897
Folder 3: Minutes, Trustees, Jun-02
Folder 4: Legislation Regarding Governing Boards, 1917-1967
Folder 5: Legislation Re: Name Changes, 1955-1957
Folder 6: Legislation, 1967
Folder 7: Governing Policies & Regulations, 1950-1960
Folder 8: By-Laws, Governing Policies, & Practices, 1961-1970
Folder 9: Governing Policies, 1971-1984
Folder 10: Regulations, 1943-1977
Folder 11: Annual Reports, 1991-1995

Box 1A

Folder 12: Regulations, Obsolete, 1943-1977
Folder 13: Governance Documents, 1994

Box 2

Volume 1-2: Biennial Reports, 1900-1916
Volume 3-5: Proceedings, 1917-1925

Box 3-7A

Volume 1-50: Proceedings, 1925-1977

Box 7B-D

Folder 1-19: Board of Regents Minutes, 1977-1995

Box 8

Folder 1-3: Summaries of Actions Taken at the Meetings, 1962-1969
Folder 4-18: Board of Regents (BOR) Meetings - Supplementary Material, 1967-1978, 1980, 1993-1995
Folder 19: Board of Regents (BOR) Events of 1994-1995: BOR vx. JEL (Board of Regents vs John E. La Tourette); Groves Firing; Board of Regents (BOR) Demise, 1994-1995
Folder 20: Board of Regents, Separate Board for NIU, 1989

Series II.: Executive Officers Records

Box 9-12F

Volume 1-25: Executive Officers'/Chancellor's Reports, 1951-1978
Folder 1-37: Executive Officers'/Chancellor's Reports, 1978-1995

Series III.: Reports, Budgets, and Committee and Council Records

Box 13

Folder 1: Board Reports, 1956-1970
Folder 2-3: Northern Illinois State Normal School (N.I.S.N.S.) Account Books, 1895-1917

Box 14

Folder 1: Appropriations Requests, 1972-1973
Folder 2: Council of Presidents, Minutes, 1958-1968
Folder 3: Reports of the Legal Counsel, 1966-1968
Folder 4: Ad Hoc Committees: Governance, Hearing Statements, 1968

Box 15

Folder 1: Ad Hoc Committees: Governance, Hearing Statements, Illinois State University (ISU), 1968
Folder 2: Ad Hoc Committees: Salary Justice, 1980
Folder 3: Illinois Supreme Court Case, 1942
Folder 4: Joint Faculty Policy Committee: Minutes, 1960-1969
Folder 5: Joint Faculty Policy Committee: Reports and Policies, 1965-1968

Box 16

Folder 1: Various Committee Reports, 1950-1970
Folder 2: Affirmative Action Committee, 1974

Series IV.: Publications

Box 16

Folder 3: News Releases, 1964-1971
Folder 4: Report of the Chancellor's Task Force on Minority Concerns, 1986
Folder 5-6: Illinois Board of Regents Newsletter/Regency Report, 1981-1995
Folder 7: Meet the Board,/Directory, 1992-1994

Series V.: Board of Trustees, 1995 -

Box 17

Folder 1: Candidate Screening - Alumni Association, 1995
Folder 2-5: Board of Trustees Candidates, 1995
Folder 6: Board of Trustees, Proceedings, January 1, 1996 - June 30, 1997

Box 18A-O

Folder 1-: Board of Trustees Minutes, 1996-