Skip to main content

Swarthmore College Board of Managers Records

 Collection
Identifier: SFHL-RG6-C

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of the official records of the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College, its committees, personal papers of its members, and reference material concerning the Board.

Organized into seven series:

  1. Lists of Members of the Board of Managers and miscellaneous collected papers
  2. Minutes of the Board of Managers
  3. Standing Committees
  4. Ad Hoc Committees
  5. Miscellaneous reports, resolutions, etc.
  6. Background papers and other mailings to the Board
  7. Papers of individual members of the Board of Managers

Dates

  • Creation: 1862 - 2018

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Permission to this material is restricted and requires the permission of the Office of the President of Swarthmore College. Contact the repository for details.

When available, access is through microfilm, with notations of microfilmed records included in finding aid.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright has not been assigned to Friends Historical Library. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in to the Director. Permission for publication is given on behalf Friends Historical Library as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by reader.

Biographical / Historical

Under the 1864 Charter of Swarthmore College, the Board of Managers was elected at the annual meeting of the Stockholders of the College held each December in Philadelphia, Pa. The amendment of 1870 included a provision that sixteen of the thirty-two Managers were to be women, a formalization of the de-facto Board membership. In 1910 application was made to the Court of Common Pleas of Delaware County to change the organizational structure of the Corporation and eliminate the stockholders provision of the Charter. This was approved on October 22, 1910. The Board of Managers took over the fiduciary responsibilities of the College and was authorized to elect its successors, appoint the College president and other officers, and adopt by-laws as may be necessary for the management of the College.

As a result of the Charter revision, the last meetings of the Friends Educational Association and the Stockholders of Swarthmore College were held on December 6, 1910, at which time the first Board of Managers of Swarthmore College was elected and the Stockholders Association dissolved. At that time, all shares of stock were surrendered to the Swarthmore College Corporation.

Extent

40 linear ft.

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Includes the records that document the work of the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College beginning in 1862, together with the records of the Board of Managers of the Friends Educational Association (1862). Also included are the records of committees appointed by the Board to oversee the operation of the College from its founding to the present. Records consist of minutes, committees of the Board, lists of members, resolutions, reports, papers of individual members of the Board, and secondary works and reference files relating to the Board of Managers.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Deposit, 1972 and on-going

Existence and Location of Copies

Available on microfilm in the Library:

  1. Minutes, 1862-1909: R-SW1
  2. Minutes, 1909-21: R-SW2
  3. Minutes, 1910-13 (pp.93-370): R-SW6
  4. Minutes, 1921-31: R-SW3
  5. Minutes, 1931-44: R-SW4
  6. Minutes, 1952-79: R-SW13
  7. Executive Committee Minutes, 1869-1918: R-SW
  8. Executive Committee Minutes, 1917-48: R-SW5
  9. Executive Committee Minutes, 1948-70 and 1976-77: R-SW13
  10. Instruction Committee Minutes, 1885-1927: R-SW11
  11. Instruction Committee Minutes, 1927-39: R-SW10
  12. Library Committee Minutes, 1922-29: R-SW10
  13. Recess Committee Minutes, 1892-1921: R-SW10
  14. Trusts Committee Minutes, 1875-1928: R-SW7
  15. Trusts Committee Minutes, 1928-33: R-SW9
  16. Household Committee Minutes and Correspondence, 1914-22/1911-17: R-SW8
  17. Trusts Committee Minutes, 1870-1926: R-SW6
  18. Investment Committee Minutes, 1965-75: R-SW14
  19. Building and Property Committee Minutes, 1942-65: R-SW14
  20. Property Committee Minutes, 1966-82: R-SW14
  21. Instruction and Library Committee Minutes, 1939-66: R-SW14
  22. Finance Committee Minutes, 1945-75: R-SW13

Related Materials

For materials related to the Board of Managers of the Friends Educational Association, See Ser. B2, Founding Committees and Predecessor Bodies to the Corporation. Materials related to the financial support of the College, see Ser. B3, Stockholders of Swarthmore College and Ser. B4, Swarthmore Stock Trust Association, as well as the official documentation of the College, see Ser. B1, Charter and Related Documents.

See PG 7 Reference files and RG 6/V College Reference for secondary information.

Processing Information

The bulk of the material was received circa 1972 and processed as part of Swarthmore College Archives, Series 2, Official Records of the College. As part of the reorganization of the College Archives that began in 1997, the records were reprocessed and a new finding aid produced. Corrections and re-classifying series were made on the inventory in 2014. Within each series, the boxes are mumbered sequentially in order to keep like material together rather than a continuous numbering of all boxes regardless of series or topic.

Author
FHL staff
Date
2019
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
English

Find It at the Library

Most of the materials in this catalog are not digitized and can only be accessed in person. Please see our website for more information about visiting or requesting repoductions from Friends Historical Library of Swarthmore College Library

Contact:
500 College Avenue
Swarthmore Pennsylvania 19081 USA