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Bank Street College Archives: Record Group 1

RECORD GROUP 1
Board of Trustees, 1917-2001
Quantity: 7.2 cubic feet

Biographical Note
Scope and Content Note
Descriptions
Container List

Photo: Lucy Sprague Mitchell at her typewriter, circa 1951.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

The first meeting of the Board of Trustees took place on April 15, 1917. Present at that meeting were Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, Albert Sprague Coolidge, Lucy Sprague Mitchell and Wesley Clair Mitchell. The Board was responsible for the financial management of the Corporation. All other activities of the Bureau were managed by the Working Council.

As the Bureau grew from its initial mission to "collect and disseminate information concerning progressive education and to promote and conduct educational experiments," it became evident that role of the Board of Trustees needed to be expanded. In the early 1950s, the Board began to play a more active role in fundraising and management of the College. They also came to the realization that as the College's programs expanded, a more formal organizational structure was needed. This led to the creation of the position of president.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The records of the Board of Trustees are divided into two subgroups, The Bureau of Educational Experiments (BEE) and Bank Street College of Education (BSC). Within each subgroup are four series: correspondence and reports, minutes, charters and incorporations, and other records such as legal documents and bank records. Subgroup 1, the Bureau of Educational Experiments (BEE), contains the records of the Board of Trustees of the Bureau from 1917 until 1950. Subgroup 2, Bank Street College of Education (BSC), contains the records of the governing body after the New York State Board of Regents acted to recognize the professional education and training at the Bureau and approved the graduate program at the College.

DESCRIPTIONS

SUBGROUP 1 BEE (Bureau of Educational Experiments) (1917-1950)

SERIES A - Correspondence and Reports (1918-1950) includes meeting announcements, reports, correspondence with the attorney (and later trustee) Basil N. Bass, and general trustee correspondence. General correspondence, arranged in chronological order, is followed by correspondence with specific individuals or on specific subjects arranged in alphabetical order, followed by reports arranged alphabetically.

SERIES B - Minutes of Meetings (1917-1950) contains agendas, minutes and supporting documentation of the Board of Trustees meetings and trustee committee meetings. The series is arranged chronologically. The records for several years, 1927-1930 and 1943, are missing.

SERIES C - Charters and Incorporations (1917-1950) includes charter and by-law drafts, application and amendments, and minutes of incorporators' meetings. The series is arranged alphabetically.

SERIES D - Other Records (1939 -1948) includes legal documents and correspondence regarding Bureau vs. Herzog, bank records, and the obituary of trustee and founder Wesley C. Mitchell. The series is arranged alphabetically.

SUBGROUP 2 BSC (Bank Street College of Education) (1950-2001)

SERIES A - Correspondence and Reports (1950-1999) includes meeting announcements, general trustee correspondence, correspondence with attorney Harrington H. Harlow and reports. General correspondence is arranged chronologically, followed by correspondence with specific individuals or on specific subjects arranged alphabetically followed by reports.

SERIES B - Minutes of Meetings (1951-1997) contains agendas, minutes and supporting documentation of Board of Trustees and trustee committee meetings. The minutes are organized in chronological order. Note that the minutes from 1982-1983 and 1985-1992 are missing.

SERIES C - Charters and Incorporations (1953-1992) includes charter and by-law correspondence, drafts and amendments and records of the Committee on By-Laws. The series is arranged in alphabetical order by subject.

SERIES D - Other Records (1952-2001) includes Board of Trustees handbooks, committee event materials, annual trustee membership rosters, committee membership lists and individual trustee files for many trustees containing biographical materials and correspondence. The series is arranged first with general trustee records followed by individual trustee records in alphabetical order.

CONTAINER LIST

Box	Subgroup	Series	Title/Contents	Dates
1	1	A	Correspondence, 12 folders	1918-1950
			Reports, 1 folder	1919-1931
		B	Minutes, 26 folders	1917-1950
		C	By-laws, 2 folders	1917-1950
			Charters, 3 folders	1931-1950
			Incorporators' meeting minutes, 1 folder	1917-1920
		D	Bank account agreement, 1 folder	1948
			Bureau vs. Herzog, 2 folders	1939-1941
			Summary of the Development of the BEE, 1 folder	1930's
			Wesley C. Mitchell obituaries, 1 folder	1948
2	2	A	Correspondence, 61 folders	1950-1999
			Reports, 3 folders	1955-1973
		B	Minutes, 8 folders	1951-1953
3			Minutes, 24 folders	1954-1970
4			Minutes, 23 folders	1971-1984
5			Minutes, 6 folders	1993-1997
		C	By-laws, 4 folders	1953-1974
			Charters, 3 folders	1957-1989
		D	General Trustee Files, 20 folders	1950-2001
			Individual Trustee Files, Barbour, 6 folders	1957-1979
6			Individual Trustee Files, Barbour-Wise, 35 folders	1962-1988
7			Oversized, 3 folders

 

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