Indiana University faculty minutes, 1835-1964, bulk 1835-1947
A Guide to the Minutes at the Indiana University Archives
Electronic finding aid encoded by Donald C. Force
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana
University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Indiana University.
TitleIndiana University faculty minutes, 1835-1964, bulk 1835-1947
Collection no
C236
Extent
18 volumes, 7 boxes
Language
Materials are in English.
Abstract
General meetings of the Indiana
University faculty began in 1835, to discuss the industriousness of its students,
calling student rolls, and hearing reports on the work and standing of each of the
students. Disciplinary measures, dismissals, and exams for students were also discussed
during many of the meetings throughout the nineteenth century. By the 1920s, the faculty
had grown to such a point that it was necessary to create a representative body of the
faculty, but the faculty as a whole continued to meet with some regularity. Today the
faculty body rarely meet, but may be convened by the IU president, the Secretary of the
University Faculty Council, or on petition signed by voting faculty members numbering no
less than 5% of all voting faculty members.
Access Restrictions
This collection is open for research.
Advance notice is required.
Administrative History
The University Archives’ holdings of the Indiana University general faculty meetings
and minutes begin in 1835, when Indiana University was known as Indiana College. At
early faculty meetings, which were held weekly, the faculty focused on the
industriousness of its students, calling student rolls, and hearing reports on the
work and standing of each of the students. Disciplinary measures, dismissals, and
exams for students were also discussed during many of the meetings throughout the
nineteenth century.
In these early days of the University, faculty members were assembled into standing
sub-committees, each of which would oversee various aspects of the University's
functions, such as Athletics, Libraries, and Student Affairs. The Student Affairs
Committee addressed issues of admissions, academic integrity, student conduct and
discipline, and social functions.
By the 1920s the faculty had grown to approximately 300 members, making the creation
of a representative body advantageous to the completion of important faculty
business. Thus, in 1929 the University Council was formed. This smaller group
represented the interests of the broader faculty, and it investigated questions
presented to it by the administration, the faculty as a whole, or any individual
member of the faculty. It would submit its findings and conclusions to the faculty.
Recommendations and reports put forth by the University Council required formal
approval from the general faculty in order to be presented to the Board of Trustees
for action.
The general faculty on the Bloomington Campus met regularly through 1947, thereafter
meeting biannually as the University Council was disbanded and replaced with the
Faculty Council, which became the leading representative body of the faculty after
the drafting of a Faculty Constitution in 1947. In the 1960s, under President Elvis
J. Stahr, the University faced a major reorganization, and the Faculty Council itself
was restructured. The goal of the University reorganization was to divide the
University into three autonomous units: Bloomington, Indiana University-Purdue
University-Indianapolis, and the remaining regional campuses. In January 1969 the
proposed amendments to the Faculty Council Constitution were presented and debated.
The Faculty Constitution, which had provided the guidelines for University-wide
faculty, would become exclusively the constitution of the Bloomington Faculty. Other
faculties were given the option of creating their own faculty constitutions. Thus,
the Faculty Council ceased to operate in its original form and was divided into the
Bloomington Faculty Council and the University Faculty Council, a body for the
governing of system-wide faculty issues.
Today, meetings of the faculty rarely happen but may be convened by the President or
by the Secretary of the University Faculty Council on request of the University
Faculty Council or on petition signed by voting faculty members numbering no less
than 5% of all voting faculty members.
Scope and Content Note
This collection consists of two series, General and Student Affairs Committee. The
minutes in each series are organized chronologically in bound volumes. The General
series covers the period from 1835 to 1964. There is at least one set of minutes for
every year in this period, except for the years 1838, 1845, 1849-51, 1955, and 1958. The
Student Affairs Committee series consists of two bound volumes containing minutes from
1911 to 1921.
In addition to the official record, this collection includes unofficial meeting notes
from 1860 recorded in a notebook.
Regular topics discussed within the General minutes were curriculum matters, deaths of
faculty members, the organization of a University Council, the drafting of the faculty
constitution and the State of the University Addresses presented by the president of the
University. Also included is an account of the fire in the new College Building on 12
July 1883. For the most part, any handouts distributed at meetings are included within
the set of minutes for that particular meeting; there were, however, a handful of
reports and letters found tucked into the minute books.
Topics discussed in the Student Affairs Committee minutes include admissions, academic
integrity, student conduct and discipline, and social functions on campus.
The faculty occasionally met more than once on the same day. These meetings are
represented by a duplicate date in the folder list.
Arrangement
Collection is organized into two series: General and Student Affairs Committee. Each
series is arranged chronologically.
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Indexing Terms
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The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries' online
catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by searching the
catalog using these terms.
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Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accessions 0543 and 1100
Usage RestrictionsCopyrights for records originating with Indiana University administrative units,
departments, and other offices are held by the Trustees of Indiana University. For
more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others
and does not claim any copyrights for non-university records, materials in the public
domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility for the
determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons
wishing to reuse the materials. Researchers are responsible for securing permission
from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these materials
that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are
made available for noncommercial educational and research purposes only. If you are
the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its
inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Indiana University faculty minutes, Collection C236, Indiana University
Archives, Bloomington.
Processing InformationProcessed by Nicole Mares.
Completed in 2007.
Updated by Tyler Davis in 2018 to include Student Affairs Committee series (Accession 0543).
Series:
Minutes, 1835-1964
Box 1
Volume I, 1835-1844,
1846
Volume II, November 1847-October 1865
12 September
1848
Incorrectly recorded in original minutes as 1849
View item(s)
9 February 1864
View item(s)
(Incorrectly dated in minutes as 9 April 1864)
Volume III, October 1865-June 1872
Box 2
Volume IV, September 1872-June 1887
Volume V, September 1887–June 1909
Box 3
Volume VI, September 1909- March 1913
Letters and reports offered at various times, 1909-1913
View item(s)
Volume VII, April
1913-September 1915
Box 4
Volume VIII, October 1915–December 1918
Volume IX, January 1919-June 1925
Box 5
Volume X, September 1925-June 1931
Volume XI, November 1931-June 1937
Volume XII, September 1937-May 1940
Box 6
Volume XIII, May 1940-June 1942
Volume XIV, September 1942 – April 1945
Volume XVI, August 1945-October 1964