University of the State of New York Board of Regents Secretary's Correspondence Files

Arranged into two subseries: 1. Correspondence, 1859-1871; 2. Correspondence, 1971-1988.

From its beginnings, the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York oversaw the position of Secretary of the Board. The Secretary was charged with administering the affairs of the Board of Regents; in particular, they were responsible for organizing and documenting (through the collection and publication of minutes) the regular meetings of the Board. As the authority of the Board of Regents increased in scope, much of the responsibility for administering this authority fell to the Secretary. By the 1890's, when the post was held by Melvil Dewey, the Secretary supervised full-time inspectors of secondary schools, libraries, colleges, and other institutions reporting to the Regents. With the unification of the University of the State of New York and the New York State Department of Public Instruction in 1904, which resulted in the creation of the New York State Education Department, many of the Secretary's responsibilities were transferred to the newly-created position of Commissioner of Education. From this point on, the Secretary's duties centered around the coordination of Regents' meetings and facilitating communication among the Regents, as well as between the Board of Regents and the educational community in New York.

This series consists of correspondence between the Secretary of the Board of Regents and New York State school officials. One subseries dates from 1859 to 1871, and mostly consists of letters received by Secretary S.B. Woolworth. These include letters accompanying the submittals of annual reports from schools and school districts, requests for Regents' publications, responses to invitations to conventions and meeting, and requests for the Regents permission to teach certain courses. A significant portion of the correspondence from this time period is addressed to the New York State Librarian, and contains information on the holdings of the State Library prior to the 1911 Capitol fire which destroyed much of the Library's collection. A second subseries dates from 1971 to 1988, and is mostly directed to Secretaries Richard J. Sawyer and William J. Carr. In addition to incoming and outgoing correspondence, this subseries contains draft agendas of Regents' meetings, Regents' committee agendas, monthly notices of action by the Regents, and monthly reports of the Commissioner of Education.

Series 17265, Board of Regents Meeting Files, contains documentation of education policy issues considered by the board and actions taken on such issues.

There are no restrictions regarding access to or use of the material.