University of the State of New York Board of Regents Charters and Amendments

Chronological by date action taken, corresponding to numerical order of charters.

The following statutory citations are relevant to "charter" records:

L. 1784, Ch. 51: Established University of the State of New York headed by the Board of Regents

L. 1787, Ch. 82: Amended earlier statute and authorized Board of Regents to grant charters of incorporation to academies and colleges

L. 1853, Ch. 184: Regulated procedures for Regents' incorporation of a college, university, academy, or other "institution of learning"

L. 1889, Ch. 25: Required certificate of dissolution of an academy to be filed in the office of secretary to the Board of Regents

L. 1889, Ch. 529: Clarified procedures for incorporation by the Board of Regents, specifically including libraries, museums, and "other educational institution[s]"

L. 1892, Ch. 378 ("University Law"): Codified provisions of L. 1889, Ch. 529

Education Law, sect. 216-223: Current provisions relating to Regents' charters (deriving from Consolidated Laws of 1909 and recodified Education Law of 1947)

These records were created by the Board of Regents for the purpose of certifying the legal status of institutions for whom the charters and amendments were made. The records consist of photostatic duplicates of charters and amendments issued to the institutions. Actions recorded in the charters and amendments include changes of charter status from provisional to absolute; orders of consolidations; certifications of incorporations; amendments of language; approval of bylaws; extensions of provisional charters; consents to merger; and dissolutions of charters.

Documents may include the following: provisional and absolute charters of educational institutions, including colleges, libraries, museums, historical societies, other learned societies, and other entities with an educational purpose; amendments to charters (including name changes); terminations or revocations of charters; admissions of schools offering academic instruction (i.e. high school courses) to the University of the State of New York, including private "academies" (mostly Catholic), other private schools, "high schools" in New York City, "intermediate schools" in New York City, and "union schools" (i.e. schools operated by union free school districts outside of cities), mostly present for the late 19th and early 20th Centuries; and approvals of transfer of property to and from educational corporations.

17261-93: January 1917 (#2687) through January 1992 (#21,123). Some letters from the State Education Department's Counsel's Office and the Secretary to the Regents to the institutions are also included.

17261-95: Charters and amendments February 1992 (#21,124) through April 1994 (#21643).

17261-97: Charters and amendments from May, 1994 (#21,644) to November, 1995 (#22,002).

17261-98: Charters and amendments from December 1995 (#22,003) through March 1997 (#22,288).

17261-99: Charters and amendments from March 1996 (#22,067) through February 1999 (#22, 679).

17261-01: Charters and amendments from March 1999 (#22,680) to November 2000 (#23,124).

17261-05: Charters and amendments from February 2001 (#23,125) to December 2004 (#23,875).

17261-07: Charters and amendments from January 2005 (#23,876) to December 2006 (#24,63).

19237Series 19237, Microfilmed Charters and Amendments, contains these records in microform

18458Series 18458, Regent's charter and incorporation files contains related records

B1550Series B1550, Transmittal letters for revoked charters contains related records

A0453Series A0453, Deeds, contains recorded copies of academy charters granted by the Board of Regents prior to 1847

13036Series 13036, Enrolled acts of the State Legislature, also contains 19th century acts of incorporation of academies and other educational institutions

Partly indexed in: Sara L. Gardiner, comp., Educational Corporations of New York State (Albany: The University of the State of New York Press, 1924).

17261-95, 17261-01: Container list.

17261-97, 17261-99, 17261-12: Volume list.

17261-98: Folder list.

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