Archives and Special Collections
92 Snell Library
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 373-2351
Archives and Special Collections Finding Aids

Printable Finding Aid. Back to Browsing Version.

Collection Overview
Title:Corporation and Board of Trustees records
Date:1915-2000
Location Code:23/1-2, 28/2, 30/4, 33/2
Reference Code:A12
Extent:24.50 cubic ft. (41 boxes)
Scope and Content Abstract:The bulk of the collection consists of meeting minutes of the Corporation, Board of Trustees, Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, Executive Council of the University, and governing committees, including the Development, Facilities, Housing, Nominating, and Presidential Search Committees. Meeting minutes include agenda and attachments. Also included in the collection is a large number of member files consisting of biographical information, photographs and correspondence.
Historical Abstract:Northeastern University was incorporated in 1916 as the Northeastern College of the Young Men's Christian Association. In its first two decades, at least two–thirds of Northeastern University's Corporation members were directors of the Greater Boston Y.M.C.A. The Board of Trustees of the Endowment Funds was established in 1924. In 1927, it became the Board of Trustees of the Permanent Funds, but disbanded in 1932. On January 22, 1937 the Corporation founded the Northeastern University Board of Trustees. The Board of Trustees is elected annually by and from the Northeastern Corporation. The Board is allocated all of the powers of the Corporation and has the final word on Northeastern University's goals and policies. In June of 1985, the bylaws of the Corporation were amended to allow for the formation of the Board of Overseers. The Board of Overseers was created to relieve the Board of Trustees of some of the burden of governing Northeastern University. The Corporation also provides members for sundry governing committees. The standing governing committees are: Academic Affairs, Audit, Budget, Building, Development, Executive, Facilities, Funds and Investments, Housing, and Student Affairs.
Language and Scripts:Materials entirely in English.
System of Arrangement:The collection is organized into four series: Series 1. Corporation, Series 2. Board of Trustees of the Permanent Funds, Series 3. Board of Trustees, and Series 4. Executive Council of the University.
Subjects and Contributors:
  • Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Board of Trustees.
  • Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Corporation.
  • Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Executive Council.
  • Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.) –– Buildings.
  • Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.) –– Administration.

  • College trustees –– Massachusetts –– Boston.
  • College buildings –– Massachusetts –– Boston.
Conditions Governing Access:Records are closed for 50 years from the date of their creation, unless researchers have written permission from the creating office.
Processor:Finding aid prepared by Ken Risley and Katie Geiszler, Ellen Lassiter, Rebecca Parmer, June 1998, June 2003, February 2005, April 2008

Scope and Content Note

The bulk of the material in the collection consists of meeting minutes of the Corporation, Board of Trustees, Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees, Executive Council of the University, and committees, including the Development, Facilities, Housing, and Nominating committees.  The minutes include agenda and attachments.  On several occasions, joint meetings of two entities were held.  These minutes are listed separately, with the folder title containing both committee names. Researchers may also wish to consult the Corporation Directories located in the Northeastern University Collection.

Records of special committees assembled for the selection of Presidents Ryder and Curry are found in the Board of Trustees series (Boxes 21–22).  Files on each candidate document the Ryder selection process (Box 21, Folders 991–1022).  These files are arranged alphabetically and include correspondence, curriculum vitae, notes, photographs, and letters of reference. There are also detailed files of the final five candidates (Box 21, Folders 1017–1021), including President Ryder.  The procedure for the selection of President Curry is summarized in the Final Report of the Special Committee for the Selection of a President, 1990 (Box 22, Folder 1027).  This file details the administrative actions of the selection committee, but the candidates remain anonymous. Files for individual members of the committee are also arranged alphabetically and include biographical and correspondence records (Boxes 31–36). Photos of many of the board members are available in the photography file. Researchers should also note that the Jury Award of the Board of Trustees, 1934, refers to the competition for a master plan of the NU physical plant (Box 10, Folder 540).

Historical Note

Northeastern University became a legal entity in 1916 when the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts signed into law a bill authorizing the incorporation of Northeastern College of the Young Men's Christian Association.  The first two decades of Northeastern's Corporation were linked to the Greater Boston Y.M.C.A.(see collection M13) because, by law, two–thirds of the Corporation members had to be directors of the Greater Boston Y.M.C.A.  The Board of Trustees of the Endowment Funds was established in 1924.  Its name was changed in 1927 to the Board of Trustees of the Permanent Funds, and it disbanded in 1932.      

On January 22, 1937 the Corporation founded the Northeastern University Board of Trustees.  The Board of Trustees is elected annually by and from the Northeastern Corporation.  The Board is allocated all of the powers of the Corporation and has the final word on the University's goals and policies.  In its first four years, the Board doubled in size, from 20 to 40 members.  By the 1940s, there were no overlapping directors of the Boston Y.M.C.A. on the board.  The Corporation also provides the members of the sundry governing committees.  The standing committees are: Academic Affairs, Audit, Budget, Building, Development, Executive, Facilities, Funds and Investments, Housing, and Student Affairs.  The following decades, 1937–1957, saw the Corporation extend its membership to 122 persons.  In 1968 the Board of Trustees introduced the Committee on Academic Affairs and the Committee on Student Affairs.  1968 was also the year that saw the first woman admitted to the Corporation, Mrs. Frances Commins Kennerson.  A year later, the Corporation welcomed its first three black members, Edward E. Brooke, Victor C. Bynoe, and Kenneth A. Loftman.  

In June of 1985, the bylaws of the Corporation were amended to allow for the formation of the Board of Overseers.  The additional board was formed to relieve the Board of Trustees of some of the burden of governing the University.  Prompted by President Kenneth G. Ryder's call for more involvement by the University Corporation and Board of Trustees, the Board of Overseers was created to provide a talent pool for new committees, offer training for future members of the Board, and be a potential source for gifts.
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Series:
1. Corporation, 1904–2005
Volume:2.80 cubic ft.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
BoxTitleDate
38, 41Acts and Resolves of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (18 folders)1904–1968
1Agreement of Association 1916
36Annual Meeting Program2003
1By–laws (7 folders)n.d., 1916 –2000
37Certificate of Title1936
37Charter1916
1Directory 1985–1990
2Meetings (audio tapes) (4 folders)1959, 1973–1975
3Members Card Filen.d.
Minutes:
5–7Records (67 folders)1936–1997
4Microfilm1971–1974
37, 41Name Change Documents (2 folders)1920, 1935
39, 41Northeastern University Seal Registration (2 folders)1972–1979
41Organization Chart1930
38Revenue Bond Information (3 folders)1998–2005
39Tax Exemption Issues1977–1978
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Series:
2. Board of Trustees of the Permanent Funds, 1924–1932
Volume: 0.1 cubic ft.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
BoxTitleDate
7Minutes 1924–1932
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Series:
3. Board of Trustees, 1917–1999
Volume: 20.45 cubic ft.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
Box Title Date
7 Ad Interim Affairs, Committee on 1932
Academic Affairs Committee
7–11 Records (110 folders) 1969–1999
4 Microfilm 1969–1974
11 Acquiring of Additional Land, Special Committee on (3 folders) 1933
11 Annuities, Special Committee on 1940
11 Areas, Committee on 1940
11 Athletics, Ad–hoc Committee on 1998
11–12 Audit Committee (42 folders) 1978–1997
  Azland, Inc.
36 Annual Meeting 1969–1976, 1986–1992
36 Assumption and Idemnity Agreement 1969
36 Bylaws 1970
36 Corporate Records 1968
36 Correspondence 1969–1992
36 Deed of Trust 1968
36 Note Purchase Agreement 1968
Properties
36 Leases (7 folders) 1968–1977
36 Mortgages (3 folders) 1968–1969
37 Notes and Assignments 1968–1969
37 Property Taxes 1972, 1974, 1977, n.d.
37 Sale to Home and Savings Loan Association – Ohio 1977–1978
37 Proposal of Land Sale 1969
12-13 Budget Committee: Records (22 folders) 1932, 1984-1993
13 Building Committee 1933
13 Buildings Committee (7 folders) 1945–1954
37 Buildings and Real Estate Index 1961–1981
13 Bylaws Review Committee 1943
37 Centennial Campaign: Post–Campaign Internal Review 1998
13 Chairman, Correspondence and Memoranda 1975
37 Chairman's Event, Programs 2003, 2005
37 Commencement Committee: Minutes (3 folders) 1984–1993
13, 25 Commencement Speakers and Honorary Degrees (3 folders) 1983–1984, 1995–1998
13 Committees , General 1990
25 Cooperative Education, Special Committee on (7 folders) 1998–1999
14 Correspondence (2 folders) 1974–1975
37 Debt Assessment, Subcommittee on: Minutes 1987
Development Committee
14 Records (72 folders) 1935–1999
4 Microfilm 1959–1967
14 Development Committee and Campaign Cabinet (8 folders) 1993–1999
37 Diamond Anniversary Development Program 1975
37 Enrollment, Special Committee on 1991
Executive Committee
14 Beggs Proposition, Special Committee on 1959
14 Boston Storage Warehouse, Special Committee on 1959
37 Business and Industry Institute, Proposal 1967
14 Faculty Retirement Plan, Special Committee on 1946
14 Finance, Subcommittee on 1961
14 Financing the 10–Year Development Program, Subcommittee on 1961
14 Huntington School for Boys, Special Committee on the Disposition of 1950
14–17 Minutes (440 folders) 1933–1999
17 New England College of Pharmacy, Special Committee on 1961
17 Pierce Mansion, Special Committee on 1961
17 Student Center Building, Subcommittee on 1945
17 United Reality Property, Special Committee on (3 folders) 1960
Facilities, Committee on
17 Facilities, Subcommittee on 1998
17–18 Minutes (49 folders) 1954–1992
18 Facilities and Development, Committee on (9 folders) 1972–1978
18 Faculty Dismissal Committee 1988
18 Fiftieth Anniversary, Central Committee on (2 folders) 1947
18 Finance Committee (37 folders) 1980–1992
18 Finance and Facilities, Committee on 1993
18 Financial Affairs, Committee on (15 folders) 1993–1999
19 Financial Statements and Auditor's Reports (5 folders) 1973–1977
37 Fund–Raising Potential of Northeastern University, Special Study and Report 2000
19 Funds and Investments, Committee on (17 folders) 1938–1945, 1974–1979
19 Funds and Investments, Subcommittee on 1998
19 Governance (16 folders) 1984–1999
19 Honorary Degrees, Special Committee on (3 folders) 1961–1962,1973
19 Housing and Endowment, Joint Committee Meeting (2 folders) 1928
20 Housing, Committee on (5 folders) 1993
20 Inauguration, Committee on 1940
20 Institute for Experiential Education, Special Committee on 1973
37 Institute for Off–Campus Experience and Cooperative Education 1973–1974
20 Invitations to Dinners Honoring Chairman and President 1989
20 Jury Award of the Board of Trustees 1934
20 Long–Range Planning Committee (29 folders) 1984–1999
31–36 Members (426 folders) 1902–1996
Minutes
21–24 Records (375 folders) 1917–1999
4, 28–30 Microfilm 1915–1999
37 Index (3 folders) 1926–1944, 1960–1980
38 Index of Votes (5 folders) 1961–1988
24 New Requirements of Board of Bar Examiners, Special Committee on 1934
24, 27 Nominating Committee: Records (57 Folders) 1933–1965, 1978–1999
24, 37 Overseers, Board of (22 folders) 1985–1999
24 Orientation for New Members 1999
24 Presidential Nominating Council (4 folders) 1988–1989
Presidential Selection Advisory Committee
24 Candidates; A–W, (5 folders) 1974–1975
25 Chronology 1974–1975
25 Correspondence and Activities (20 folders) 1973–1975
25 Final Candidates (5 folders) 1973–1975
25 Progress Reports 1974–1975
25 Purchase of Durant Land, Special Committee on 1932
25 Re–organization, Special Committee on 1931
25 Revise Dismissal Procedure, Committee to 1990
25 Separation of Northeastern University from Boston YMCA 1995
39 South Africa
25 Speare's Retirement, Special Committee on 1940
25 Special Committee (2 folders) 1992–1999
Special Committee for the Selection of a President
25 Final Report 1990
25 Meeting Minutes (2 folders) 1988–1989
25 Memoranda 1988–1989
25 Progress Reports 1988–1989
25 Special Meeting of Board of Trustees (2 folders) 1973–1975
37 Standing Committees Minutes Index 1932–1973
39 Strategic Plan Implementation Report 1989
39 Strategic Planning Steering Committee: Strategic Plan Report“ The Connected Community” 1993
39 Strategic Research and Graduate Program Development: Executive Summary 1999
Students Affairs, Committee on
25 Records (19 folders) 1969–1993
4 Microfilm 1969–1972
25 Student Affairs and Commencement, Committee on (12 folders) 1994–1999
39 Study of the Campus Environment for Diversity, Report 1996
39 Task Force on Alumni Relations Final Report 1997
40 Testimonial: George Matthews (2 videotapes) 2003
25 University Problems, Special Committee on 1935
39 Wentworth Liason Committee 1983
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Series:
4. Executive Council for the University, 1922–1978
Volume:1.15 cubic ft.
Arrangement:

Alphabetical
BoxTitleDate
26Announcement 1949
26Approval 1966
26Correspondence 1963
26Joint Meeting of the Executive and Academic Council (29 folders)1961–1978
26Membership List 1922–1962
26Memoranda 1970, 1974
26Minutes (205 folders)1957–1978
27Proposed Agenda 1966
27Vote 1960
27Vote Index 1960–1978
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