New York State Theatre Institute Board Minutes and Establishing Legislation

Chronological.

Enabling legislation mandated that the New York State Theatre Institute be governed by a board of directors, to be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the governor. The board was to consist of a chairperson and fourteen voting members representing the theater, education, and business communities.

This series includes the minutes of the Board of Directors of the New York State Theatre Institute (NYSTI), spanning the period from 1999, when it was first established, to its dissolution in 2010 (with gaps). The minutes document the activities and decisions of artistic director Patricia Snyder, and how she personally shaped the agency. According to a 2010 State Inspector General's report, the NYSTI Board of Directors permitted Snyder, over an extended period of time, to exercise significant control and final decision-making authority over nearly every aspect of NYSTI's activities. Snyder used this authority to engage in a pattern of activities which benefited herself and members of her family in violation of the state Public Officers Law. The records also contain copies of Chapter 824 of the Laws of 1992, which established the New York State Theatre Institute as a public benefit corporation.

These records were created by the New York State Theatre Institute, and were transferred to the custody of the State Education Department when the institute was dissolved in April 2010. They were transferred to the State Archives in March 2013.

This series was transferred under records disposition number 90372.

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