Board of Regents Records, 1886-1929

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Oregon Agricultural College. Board of Regents.
Title
Board of Regents Records
Dates
1886-1929 (inclusive)
Quantity
5 cubic ft., (The paper records are housed in 2 cubic foot boxes, 5 12x17 oversize boxes, one legal document case, and an oversize cabinet.)
7 microfilm reels.
Collection Number
RG 008
Summary
The Board of Regents Records document the administration, facilities, and curriculum of the Oregon Agricultural College and include correspondence, minutes, financial records, and contracts.
Repository
Oregon State University Libraries, Special Collections and Archives Research Center
Special Collections and Archives Research Center
121 The Valley Library
Oregon State University
Corvallis OR
97331-4501
Telephone: 5417372075
Fax: 5417378674
scarc@oregonstate.edu
Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Board of Regents was created by the Oregon Legislative Assembly through legislation passed in February 1885. It replaced the College's Board of Trustees, which had reported to the Columbia Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The Board of Regents consisted of nine members appointed by, and which reported to, the Governor of Oregon. The Board's ex-officio members included the Governor, Secretary of State, the State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and the Master of the State Grange. Board officers included a president, secretary and treasurer, and were appointed to two-year terms of office. The Board's by-laws were later amended to include a vice-president. In 1929, the OAC Board of Regents was replaced by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, which was created to oversee all of Oregon's public higher education institutions.

Several Board members figured prominently in OSU's history. Wallis Nash served from 1886-1898, much of that time as the Board Secretary. James K. Weatherford, an 1872 graduate of the college, was a Board member for 43 years, 1886-1929. He was Board President from 1901-1929. John T. Apperson served from 1886-1917, and was President from 1895-1901. B. F. Irvine served from 1898-1929, the last 28 years as Board Treasurer. He also served on the Oregon State Board of Higher Education from 1929-1937. E. E. Wilson graduated from the college in 1889 and served two terms on the Board -- 1906-1915 and 1924-1929. He also served on the Memorial Union Board of Governors from 1925-1961. Walter M. Pierce served as a Board member from 1903-1927, the last four years in an ex-officio capacity as Governor of Oregon. Clara H. Waldo, the first woman appointed to the Board, served from 1905-1919.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Series I consists of general correspondence sent and received by the Board between 1887 and 1918. Series II contains the minutes of the Board's meetings from 1886-1929. Series III consists of Board Committee records. Of note are correspondence and minutes of the Executive Committee from 1886-1910. Other records in this series date from 1899-1907 and pertain to committees such as the Buildings and Grounds, the Station, and the Finance Committees.

Series IV consists of reports to the Bureau of Education of the U.S. Dept. of Interior from 1896-1907. Series V includes general reports made between 1892 and 1929, such as reports of the Board to the governor. Series VI consists of resolutions proposed by the Board between 1899 and 1904. Series VII contains financial reports of the College and Experiment Station made between 1891 and 1908, and other miscellaneous financial records from 1888-1917. Series VIII consists of staff salary schedules for 1896 and 1900. Series IX includes budgetary information for 1916 and 1917.

Series X consists of contracts. Many of these are insurance policies, which are arranged by date of expiration. Other contracts were for specific services to the college, such as providing firewood, or for the construction of particular buildings. Series XI is list of the candidates for the presidency of the college in 1892 and includes an analysis of recommendations. Series XII consists of the Board's by-laws, and includes ones adopted in 1888 as well as published copies from 1889 and 1910. Series XIII includes drafts of narrative information used in compiling the college's catalogs between 1888 and 1891. Series XIV includes information on furniture and equipment purchased by the college in the 1890s and a 1926 description of a property lot close to campus.

Most of the records are in both paper and microfilm format. Series XI through XIV are in paper form only.

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

Board of Regents Records (RG 8), Oregon State University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The records consists of fourteen series: I. Correspondence; II. Minutes; III. Committees; IV. Reports to Bureau of Education, U.S. Department of Interior; V. Reports; VI. Resolutions; VII. Financial Records; VIII. Salary Schedules; IX. Budgets; X. Contracts; XI. List of Candidates for Presidency of State Agricultural College of Oregon; XII. By-laws; XIII. Catalogue Data; XIV. Miscellaneous Records.

Related Materials

The Board of Trustees Records (RG 33) document the administration of Oregon Agricultural College prior to the establishment of the Board of Regents. The President's Office Records (RG 13) and the E. E. Wilson Papers include materials pertaining to the Board of Regents. College catalogs, published annually, listed the members and officers of the Board of Regents. The Memorabilia Collection includes biographical information on several Board members. By-laws of the Board of Regents are also available in the Publications Collection (PUB 1-10b).

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Correspondence, 1887-1918Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Reel
Correspondence received
23 folders
1888-1906 and undated
Correspondence received and sent
5 folders
Includes copies of letters sent by E.E. Wilson, Board Secretary
1907-1908 & 1910
2 1
Correspondence received and sent
includes letters sent by Wilson
1910-1911
2 1
Correspondence with college business office
Note: see narrative inventory of correspondence received, 1887-1918, that follows this series/subseries inventory
1917-1918
2 1
Correspondence sent, loose letterpress pages
1892-1898
Letterpress Books
Correspondence sent.
1888-1900
Box Reel
3 2
Vol. I
apx 12x17 in.
1888-1890
3 2
Vol. II
apx 12x17 in.
1890-1891
3 2
Vol. III (to page 187)
apx 12x17 in.
1891-1892
3 3
Vol. III (from page 188)
apx 12x17 in.
1891-1892
4 3
Vol. IV
apx 12x17 in.
1892-1895
4 3
Vol. V
apx 12x17 in.
1897
4 3
Vol. VI (to page 236)
apx 12x17 in.
1898
4 4
Vol. VI (from page 237)
apx 12x17 in.
1898
5 4
Vol. VII
apx 12x17 in.
1899-1900

Series II:  Minutes, 1886-1929Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Journals
Box Reel
6 5
apx 12x17 in.
In volume with executive committee minutes; see series III below.
1886-1889
5 4-5
Vol. I
apx 12x17 in.
1889-1908
7 5
Vol. II
apx 12x17 in.
1908-1915
7 5
Vol. III
apx 12x17 in.
Also includes minutes of the joint body of regents of Oregon Agricultural College and the University of Oregon, June-November 1927.
1915-1929
Box
2
Drafts
3 folders
1893-1899 & undated
2
Unbound copies
3 folders
1922-1929 minutes also include minutes for Building, Board and Executive Committee meetings.
1906-1910, 1915-1916, 1922-1929

Series III:  Committees, 1886-1917Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Reel
6 5
Executive Committee - Correspondence
apx 12x17 in.
1888-1890, 1901, 1904-1906
6 5
Executive Committee - Minutes
apx 12x17 in.
Box Reel
6 5
Vol. I
apx 12x17 in.
Also includes Board minutes, 1886-1889.
1886-1890
6 5
Vol. II
apx 12x17 in.
1890-1910
6
Drafts and typescript copies
apx 12x17 in.
Not filmed.
1892-1908
2 5
Committee on Literacy and Library
1899 & 1917
2 5
Printing and Advertising Committee
1899 & 1902-1903
2 5
Athletics Committee
1900 & 1904
2 5
Buildings and Grounds Committee
1891, 1893, 1899 & 1901-1907
2 5
Special Committee on Appliances for Household Science Dept.
1903
2 5
Station Committee
1900-1901 & 1904
2 5
Committee on Construction of Mechanical Hall
1889 & 1898
2 5
Committee on Agriculture and Chemistry
1899
2 5
Finance Committee
ca. 1899-1907
2 5
Statistics
1899

Series IV:  Reports to Bureau of Education, U.S. Dept. of Interior, 1896-1907Return to Top

Container(s): Box 2, Reel 5

Series V:  Reports, 1892-1929Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Reel
2 5
President of the College to the Board of Regents
June 27, 1892
2 5
President of the Board of Regents to the Governor
June 30, 1892
Departmental reports
1901
Box Reel
2 5
Cauthorn Hall Manager
2 5
Bacteriology Department
2 5
Agriculture Division
2 5
Chemical Department
2 5
Entomology & Plant Diseases Department
2 5
Vegetable Gardening
2 5
Botany & Horticulture Department
2 5
Experiment Station
ca. 1901
Box Reel
2 5
Treasurer of the Board of Regents
1901
2 5
President of the Board of Regents to the Governor
1901
2 5
Eastern Oregon Experiment Station
1902
2 5
President of the Board of Regents
1907/08
2 5
President of the College to the Board of Regents
1929

Series VI:  Resolutions, 1899-1907 & undatedReturn to Top

Container(s): Box 2, Reel 5

Series VII:  Financial Records, 1888-1917Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Reel
2 6
Reports, College and Experiment Station
1891-1906
Map Case
*
Expenditure lists, Eastern Oregon Experiment Station
1901-1904
Box Reel
2 6
Monthly financial statements of College
January 1906-May 1908
2 6
Reports of Experiment Station to USDA
4 folders
1895/96-1907/08
2 6
Miscellaneous invoices, vendor statements and other financial records
1888-1917

Series VIII:  Salary Schedules, 1896 & 1900Return to Top

Container(s): Box 2, Reel 6

1896 is paper only

Series IX:  Budgets, 1916-1918Return to Top

Container(s): Box 2, Reel 6

Series X:  Contracts, 1889-1907Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Reel
2 6
1889 & 1893-1894 paper only.
1889-1898
8
4 folders
1899-1907

Series XI:  List of Candidates for Presidency of State Agricultural College of Oregon. With Particulars, and with Analysis of Recommendations, March 1892Return to Top

Container(s): Box 6

apx 12x17 in.

Series XII:  By-laws, 1888-ca. 1910Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box
8
Draft adopted June 21, 1888 (microprint copy)
Original is located in Executive Committee Minutes journal Vol. 1 (page 8 in box 7/1/4/i)
June 21, 1888
8
Published copies
Also includes rules and regulations governing the College and Experiment Station and acts of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, ca. 1910
1889

Series XIII:  Catalogue Data, 1888-ca. 1891Return to Top

Container(s): Box 8

Series XIV:  Miscellaneous Items, ca. 1890-1926Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Map Case
8 *
Advertisements and pictorial samples of furniture, ovens, water towers, and fire extinguishers
1890s-1904
8
Steam boiler certificates of inspection
August 30, 1899
8
Flyer advertising Oregon State Normal School (now Western Oregon State College)
ca. 1890
8
Description of Covell property
1926

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • College buildings--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • College presidents--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Universities and colleges--Curricula--Oregon--Corvallis.
  • Universities and colleges--Oregon--Corvallis--Administration.
  • Universities and colleges--Oregon--Corvallis--Faculty.
  • Universities and colleges--Oregon--Corvallis--Finance.

Corporate Names

  • Oregon Agricultural College--Administration.
  • Oregon Agricultural College--Buildings.
  • Oregon Agricultural College--Faculty.
  • Oregon Agricultural College.

Other Creators

  • Personal Names
    • Apperson, John T., 1834-1917. (creator)
    • Irvine, B. F. (creator)
    • Nash, Wallis. (creator)
    • Pierce, Walter Marcus, 1861-1954. (creator)
    • Weatherford, James K. (creator)
    • Wilson, E. E. (Eddy Elbridge), 1869-1961. (creator)