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Board of Trustees Records
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Held at: Princeton University Library: University Archives [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: University Archives. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
Since its incorporation in 1746, the College of New Jersey (renamed Princeton University in 1896) has been governed by a Board of Trustees, headed ex officio by the Governor of New Jersey and the president of the college. The Trustees are responsible for the overarching policies that guide the trajectory of the university. Traditionally, committees of Trustees have concerned themselves with the major aspects of maintaining and running a university: finance, infrastructure, staff, curriculum, and student life.
The minutes document the Board of Trustees' concerns with overall policy and administration of the University. The other records provide context to the minutes, in the form of background material, especially correspondence and reports. They also provide information on Trustee actions taken through their appointed committees but not necessarily recorded in the minutes.
Digital images of the Volumes I through XII of the Trustees minutes and of the second charter of the College of New Jersey are available via the Princeton University Library Digital Collections website.
Board of Trustee records are periodically transferred to the University Archives from the Office of the Vice President and Secretary.
An online database is available for searching the minutes spanning 1748-1894. Indexes for volumes covering 1868-1898 are found in the individual volumes.
Series 9 consists of photocopies of indexes to Volumes 1-4 of the Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes, and a card index to the Board of Trustee Minutes that covers the period roughly from 1900 to 1987.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
Arranged and rehoused by Jennifer Bajorek '92 in 1990-1991. Inventoried by Carl Esche in 1994. Finding aid written by Sara Bush in 1996. Additions integrated by Christie Peterson in May 2012 and Lynn Durgin in January 2018. Accession AR.2021.033 integrated by Phoebe Nobles in 2021; materials from accession AR.2020.015 and AR.2022.045 added by Phoebe Nobles in 2022. Accession AR.2023.035 was added by Phoebe Nobles in 2023.
Appraisal information was not recorded at time of processing.
- Publisher
- University Archives
- Finding Aid Author
- Sara Bush
- Finding Aid Date
- 1997
- Sponsor
- The University Archives appreciates the generous support of the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey who underwrote preservation efforts on the University Charter.
- Access Restrictions
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All Trustee minutes and records are closed for 30 years from the date of their creation. Access to the original Second Charter of the College of New Jersey is not permitted under normal circumstances, given the availability of digital surrogates and printed text.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. The Trustees of Princeton University hold copyright to all materials generated by Princeton University employees in the course of their work. For instances beyond Fair Use, if copyright is held by Princeton University, researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of materials from the Princeton University Archives.
For instances beyond Fair Use where the copyright is not held by the University, while permission from the Library is not required, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
The first volume (1748-1796) is a gold mine of information about the personalities and activities of the young College of New Jersey. As these minutes date from the very beginning of the College, they address the multitude of issues and problems the trustees initially addressed. It was the era of the group decision, with the entire Board involved in solving every type of problem at their infrequent (two or three times a year) meetings. This volume is contained in two forms: the original volume (which does not circulate) and a typed transcript in two parts.
The minutes contain the names of officials, trustees, teachers, and students. They also provide a record of the major decisions of the College (such as the election of new presidents) as well as smaller ones (such as which foods the steward could sell to students and where the account books would be kept). Unfortunately, the discussion that led to such decisions was rarely recorded, although many letters, bills, and documents were often copied out into the minutes (though not all reports mentioned are transcribed).
Researchers will find information related to the standards for admission and graduation; legacies received; names of members of the graduating classes; names of recipients of honorary degrees; the list of books donated by Governor Jonathan Belcher; the hiring and firing of tutors; the selection and election of presidents; the purchase and sale of land; the establishment of accounting methods; the maintenance of the College facilities; fundraising efforts; the running of the Grammar School; the rate of board for students; and the continual hiring and firing of stewards. Perhaps the most frequent topic of discussion in the early records is the state of the College's finances and the difficulty in finding an acceptable method of record-keeping.
With a slight adjustment of details (such as the tutors becoming professors and the refectory becoming the eating clubs), these continue to be the dominant concerns of the trustees: staff, discipline, curriculum, finances, infrastructure, and the students' successful completion of their courses.
The President's Report is the best source of a picture of the state and nature of the College at any particular time.
Volumes 2-12 (1797-1915) are very similar in structure and nature to Volume 1. They grow progressively longer, but there is no equivalent increase in depth or detail. A few notes:
- Volume 2: Words in margin indicate subject of discussion
- Volume 4: Concludes with an accounting of the College's funds
- Volume 10: First typed volume; also information on new courses
Volumes 13-91C (1915-1993) are quarto-sized volumes and noticeably different in style to the earlier volumes. The minutes now become a mixture of short accounts of the flow of the meetings followed by printed reports prepared in advance of the meetings. The trustees met every October, January, April and June (with occasional special meetings) during this period.
These later minutes provide less of an account of a single meeting than a repository of reports by specialized committees researching narrower topics. While the information about Princeton becomes more specific, there is less of a chance to comprehend the opinions and leanings of the various trustees.
The topics addressed by the standing committees whose reports are represented in these volumes include finance, the curriculum, grounds and buildings, clubs, morals and physical education, the graduate school, the library, and undergraduate life.
Researchers may also consult the "Rough Minutes" of meetings in Series 4.
Arranged chronologically by meeting date.
Physical Description387 Volumes
(DOES NOT CIRCULATE)
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1 box
(typed copy)
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(typed copy)
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1 volume
1 volume
(Indexes Vols. 1-3)
Photocopy of this index is available in Series 9 of this finding aid (Box 67).
Physical Description1 volume
1 volume
Photocopy of this index is available in Series 9 of this finding aid (Box 67).
Physical Description1 volume
(Index begins p. 721)
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(Index begins p. 787)
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(Index begins p. 797)
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(Index begins p. 775)
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Series 2 contains charters and bylaws and facsimiles of the same.
The series also contains several facsimile copies of the Charter as well as statements of the rules by which the trustees govern themselves.
The College Laws and Customs; Rules and Regulations; and College Handbook concern the admission, conduct, and requirements of students and faculty (rather than the trustees). Similar rules were printed in the College's catalogue when it was first produced in the 1840s. The "laws" and "rules and regulations" vary in exact title. The "handbooks" are summaries of the more extensive information on courses (offerings and examinations) located in the College's Catalogue. The last two folders contain Latin catechisms.
Arranged according to topic.
Physical Description7 boxes
1 box
Near 1:1 replica mounted on foam core, created for an archives event in 2014 hosted by Dan Linke and John Weeren.
Physical Description1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
This volume contains a foreword by Alexander Leitch written in 1961, when the pages were removed from the Trustee Oath Book (1854-1981) and bound separately. It contains handwritten copies of the charter and by-laws. It also contains extracts of various wills. The volume spans 1783 to 1825 and has a table of contents.
Physical Description1 box
1 box
9 folders
(1972 reprint)
Physical Description1 folder
2 boxes
6 folders
1 folder
1 folder
(1914 reprint)
Physical Description1 folder
7 folders
10 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
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1 folder
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1 box
1 folder
Copied by Joseph Bonny, Class of 1793
Physical Description1 folder
16 folders
1 box
3 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
13 folders
5 folders
1 folder
1 folder
Series 3 documents the Executive Committee (which was known as the Administrative Committee from its founding in 1919 until November 1924). It met almost monthly in New York during the academic year. It discussed problems best addressed by a small and knowledgeable group of people, centered around the president. It discussed a variety of topics, ranging across the areas of the various other trustee committees.
Arranged according to topic.
Physical Description1 box
1 box
(typed and bound)
Physical Description1 box
(typed and bound)
Physical Description1 box
(typed and bound)
Physical Description1 box
(notes, correspondence, drafts)
Physical Description5 folders
1 folder
Series 4 contains a variety of types of papers, and incorporates both original documents and photocopies and photostats of material located elsewhere. Materials are arranged according to chronological order rather than by type or theme.
These papers include: reports of special committees; motions; lists of committee members; financial reports and listings; lists of committee findings; copies of Princeton's Charter and other statutory documents; materials related to fundraising efforts and accounting procedures; letters; and the "rough minutes" of trustees meetings. The last are not verbatim accounts or notes made during meetings, but rather preliminary drafts of the narrative written upon the completion of the meeting. Attached to the rough minutes are drafts of reports offered by committees, which may or may not have been recopied into the final draft of the minutes. The rough minutes are an excellent place to search for further, detailed information but may not necessarily provide a one-to-one correspondence with the finished minutes. A large portion of these materials correspond to trustee meetings and contain background materials pertaining to the meeting.
Arranged chronologically.
Physical Description43 boxes
1 folder
(facsimile of Society for the Propagation of the Gospel transcript)
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1 folder
Bound volume "Rough Minutes of the Proceedings of the Board of Trustees of the College of New Jersey, Begun May 4, 1813" [through 9 April 1823]. These "rough minutes" match very closely the final copies of the trustees' meeting minutes. They are also indexed. Apparently these "rough minutes" were written down after the conclusion of the meetings.
Physical Description1 box
Bound volume "Rough Minutes of the Proceedings of the Board of Trustees of the College of New Jersey, Begun May 12, 1823" [12 May 1823 - 15 April 1835].
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
1 folder
Letter to President of the Board of Trustees Joseph Bloomfield, sent from Philadelphia on May 5, 1807, protesting policy of strict limitation on amounts of money students should have for spending and appointment of a bursar to keep and dispense it.
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6 folders
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35 boxes
7 folders
12 folders
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7 folders
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7 folders
10 folders
8 folders
5 folders
1 folder
6 folders
1 folder
4 folders
(regarding Imbrie resignation)
Physical Description1 folder
(regarding land for Princeton railroad station)
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1 folder
1 folder
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1 folder
(regarding Mandatory trustee retirement)
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1 folder
Includes Committee Records.
Series 5 is subdivided into nine subseries, each containing the records of a particular Trustee committee: curriculum, finance, honorary degrees, grounds and buildings, graduate school, library, nomination, university affairs, and miscellaneous committees, and arranged chronologically therein.
Physical Description16 boxes
Curriculum Committee Records, 1916-1969, contains reports and minutes related to the work of the Curriculum Committee.
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Physical Description2 boxes
3 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
16 folders
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
1 folder
44 folders
Melancthon Jacobus was chair of the Curriculum Committee. Dean Luther Eisenhart was Dean of Faculty from 1925-1933, and Dean of the Graduate College from 1933-1945. The folder contains around 100 pieces, and much of the correspondence concerns the undergraduate curriculum, in particular the four-course plan.
Physical Description1 folder
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Finance Committee Records, 1869-1969, contains reports and minutes related to the work of the Finance Committee of the trustees, as well as its predecessor, the Business Committee, which operated from 1869 until 1876. Attached to the Finance Committee Records is a box with reports from 1920 and 1921 related to records on university organization.
Physical Description3 boxes
1 folder
(compiled by Edward Wright Sheldon)
Physical Description2 folders
4 folders
5 folders
5 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
9 folders
3 folders
3 folders
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Committee on the Graduate School, 1896-1946, contains reports related to the work of the committee on the organization and direction of the Graduate School.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
14 folders
1 folder
1 box
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Committee on Grounds and Buildings, 1898-1959, contains reports, correspondence, and minutes related to the work of the committee on grounds and buildings.
Physical Description2 boxes
2 folders
1 folder
2 folders
3 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
2 folders
10 folders
3 folders
1 folder
2 folders
2 folders
5 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
7 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
7 folders
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Committee on Honorary Degrees, 1746-1964, contains lists honorary degrees recipients, memoranda, standards and rules, correspondence, and list of nominations.
Physical Description4 boxes
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
4 folders
7 folders
1 folder
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1 folder
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Reports of the Library Committee, 1916-1945, consists of one bound volume containing the reports of the committee assigned the topic of the University's library. It covers issues of the operations of the library, including acquisitions, usages, collections, staff, planning, finances, and administration.
Physical Description1 box
1 box
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Committee to Nominate Committees, 1939-1987, contains records related to the nomination of candidates to serve on the trustees' various committees. It also contains memorial minutes for deceased trustees.
Physical Description1 box
3 folders
1 box
1 folder
4 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Committee on University Affairs, 1897-1898, consists largely of faculty responses to a survey undertaken by the committee in 1897.
Physical Description1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Miscellaneous Committees, 1902-2000 contains information related to the work of generally short-lived committees created to address specific issues. The topics addresses include the sanitary conditions of the university, the humanistic collections, undergraduate life, the university's resources, co-education, and the future of the university. See the folder list for a complete list of topics.
Physical Description2 boxes
1 folder
6 folders
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 box
1 box
Series 6: Clerk's Records 1881-1951, contains records related to four Clerks: Elijah R. Craven (records date from 1881-1903), Wilson Farrand (records date from 1926-1942), Archibald A. Gulick (records date from 1943-1944), and Albridge C. Smith (records date from 1947-1951, and are currently closed).
The Craven correspondence centers on specific duties incumbent on him such as the notification of the bestowal of honorary degrees by the trustees, the confirmation of details of Commencement ceremonies, etc. The Farrand papers include correspondence and documents related to certain issues that arose during his tenure (see the box list), as well as the responsibilities addressed by Craven. The Smith correspondence breaks down into two categories: that between Smith and Miss Margaret Sullivan, a secretary in the Office of the Secretary (then Alexander Leitch) and that between Smith and everyone else.
Arranged chronologically.
Physical Description2 boxes
1 box
10 folders
2 folders
1 box
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
1 folder
2 folders
1 box
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Series 7: Trustee Resolutions 1953-2006 is a compilation of resolutions that were approved during Thomas Wright's tenure as secretary of the university and subsequently as vice president and secretary of the university (1974-1990, 1990-2003). The series includes a small number of resolutions that precede and succeed Wright's tenure.
The order of the materials at the time of transfer has been maintained.
Physical Description1 box
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
Series 8: Trustee Oath Books consists of oath books containing the written and sworn oaths of trustees along with the signature of the university president.
Physical Description2 boxes
Consists of one boxed and bound volume titled, "Oath Book," also includes a foreword by Alexander Leitch, written in 1961, when the volume was bound. The oath book contains the written and sworn oaths of trustees from June 1854 until October 1981.
Physical Description1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 item
1 item
1 folder
1 volume
Photocopies of index volumes arranged chronologically. The index cards are arranged alphabetically.
Series 9: Indexes to the Board of Trustee Meeting Minutes consists of photocopied indexes to Volumes I-IV of the Board of Trustees meeting minutes (1748-1868), a photocopied index for the years 1976-1987, as well as cards arranged alphabetically by topic that provide an index to the contents of the Board of Trustee meeting minutes for the period roughly from 1898 to the mid 1970s. A card in the "Key" section of the index, which was written in 1968, explains, "This reference file was prepared from Board and Executive Committee minutes and covers the period from October 1948 through January 1968. It goes into little or no detail in the matters dealt with in minutes of the Finance and Grounds and Buildings Committees...The file incorporates cards from the old index, from c. 1898 until c. 1929." The card index was updated into the mid 1970s.
Physical Description4 boxes
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box
1 box