RG1 Board of Trustees

Record Group — Box: 1-19

Identifier: RG1

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

Contains 7.4 cubic feet of records of the Board of the Bank Street College of Education and its predecessor, the Bureau of Educational Experiments from 1917-2011. 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.

Dates

Creation: 1917 - 1989

Creator

Mitchell, Lucy Sprague, 1878-1967 (Lead, Person)
Coolidge, Albert Sprague, 1894-1977 (Funder, Person)
Coolidge, Elizabeth Sprague, 1864-1953 (Funder, Person)
Mitchell, Wesley C. (Wesley Clair), 1874-1948 (Lead, Person)

Historical 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.

Extent

7.4 Cubic Feet (19 containers)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This record group of the institution was generated by the Board of Trustees beginning in 1917. In over eight decades of Bank Street College and predecessor, The Bureau of Educational Experiments, the Board evolved from one of financial oversight to that of school management, fundraising, and establishing an office of the president. Correspondence, reports, meeting minutes, and charters are large parts of the institutional record-keeping.