The records of the University of Idaho's financial office span the years 1892 to 1952, with the bulk of the material covering the years 1893 to 1915. The early records reflect the centralization of the administration of the University's component parts; included are Agricultural Experiment Station letterbooks, incoming correspondence, and letterbooks of the secretary of the Board of Regents, the Purchasing Agent and the Bursar. Also included are an insurance record book, the accountant's report of an audit of the university's books, and minutes of the Executive Committee of the Board of Regents and of the Agricultural Experiment Station Council. Another group of material contains a variety of ledgers and journals.
All incoming correspondence is arranged first by year, then by first letter of the last name. Each alphabetical subdivision is in a rough chronological order. The letters from 1899-1901 and 1901-1902 are in binders, the remainder in file folders.
The letterbooks contain orders for supplies, correspondence dealing with purchases and forms which were enclosed with warrants. Early financial responsibility rested with the Board of Regents and the secretary signed all letters and forms. Later this responsibility was transferred to the purchasing agent, although the president of the university also signed letters and forms. Under President MacLean the purchasing agent assumed the title of bursar.
Other books include a record of insurance carried on each building, 1926-1935, an accountant's report of an audit of university books, 1913-1916, minutes of the executive committee of the Board of Regents (page 151 of volume 1 Records the official action accepting land for the agricultural college in 1896), and minutes of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station Council, 1893-1910.
The final series contains a variety of account books, ledgers, journals, and warrant registers. Because of the miscellaneous nature of this collection the items were arranged chronologically.
The date of acquisition is unknown.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.