EMORY UNIVERSITY. BOARD OF TRUSTEES.
Emory University Board of Trustees records, 1914-2010

Restrictions on Access

Special restrictions apply: Selected materials are restricted in accordance with Emory University Archives access policy which stipulates that records of the Board of Trustees are closed for a period of 25 years from the date of creation.

Collection stored off-site. Researchers must contact the Rose Library in advance to access this collection.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

All requests subject to limitations noted in departmental policies on reproduction.

Related Materials in This Repository

Emory College Board of Trustees records (Series 46); Georgia Conference Manual Labor School Board of Trustees minutes (Series 45); and Methodist Episcopal Church, South, Educational Commission records (Series 122)

Source

Transfer

Citation

[after identification of item(s)], Emory Univerity Board of Trustees records, Emory University Archives, Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, Emory University.

Processing

Processed by Kate Donovan Jarvis, Kate Stratton, and John Bence, February 2012. Boxes 7-27 and 30-55 no longer exist.

Administrative History

In 1914, following a dispute between the Methodist Episcopal Church, South and Vanderbilt University regarding the appointment of members to the Board of Trustees, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, severed its relationship with Vanderbilt and decided to charter a new Methodist university in the South. Asa Candler, founder of the Coca-Cola Company and brother of former Emory President Warren Candler (1888-1998), offered the Educational Commission of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South one million dollars and seventy-two acres of land for the Church to establish its new university in Druid Hills, a wooded neighborhood located six miles northeast of downtown Atlanta. In 1915, the Superior Court of DeKalb County granted the Educational Commission a charter for the new University and the Educational Commission’s members became interim trustees of the newly created Emory University. The first and interim members of the Board were: Reverend W.D. Bradfield, Asa G. Candler, Bishop Warren Akin Candler, Judge J.E. Cockrell, Reverend Plato T. Durham, T.T. Fishburne, H.R. Fitzgerald, Hon. G.T. Fitzhugh, Bishop John C. Kilgo, Reverend A.J. Lamar, Bishop J.H. McCoy, Bishop W.B. Murrah, Reverend F.J. Prettyman, Dr. J.P. Scott, Hon. W.G.M. Thomas, and W.D. Thomson.

In 1918, three years after the chartering of the University, the General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South elected thirty men to serve as the first permanent members of the Emory University Board of Trustees. The University’s 1915 charter outlined the terms under which first members of the Board of Trustees would be selected. The members of the Emory University Board were to be nominated by a nine-member committee to be appointed by the Bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. No fewer than eight members were to be residents of Georgia and at least two members were to be Florida residents. The initial terms of appointment on the Board varied, with one-third serving terms of four years, one third six year terms, and one third terms of eight years. However, after the first Board cohort, the terms of office were to eight years. In the event of vacancies thereafter, whether due to death, resignation, removal, or expiration of term of office, the remaining members of the Board of Trustees had the power to fill the vacancies, although new members still needed to be confirmed by the Methodist Church.

As a result of amendments to the original University charter since 1915, the terms of membership for the Board of Trustees changed such that today the Board generally has 45 members. Of that number, 30 to 34 members serve initial terms of six years and are eligible for four year renewable terms thereafter. The Board of Trustees also consists of nine to eleven alumni members, recommended by the Emory Alumni Association, who are elected to serve a six year term. Members of the Board of Trustees fill all vacancies on the Board, and new members are confirmed by the Southeastern Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church or by an agent so designated by the Church.

In addition to regular membership status, the Board of Trustees also includes emeriti trustees. To be elected to emeritus status, a trustee must have reached seventy years old and have served a full six-year term on the Board. Emeriti members may attend Board meetings and serve as voting members of Board committees, however they do not have voting privileges at full meetings and may not be counted in determining the overall number of University trustees.

The full Board of Trustees meets three times a year (a winter meeting in February, a midyear meeting in June, and an annual meeting in November), although special meetings may also be called by the Chair. In addition to the Chair, leadership of the Board consists of two Vice-Chairs, a Secretary, and an Executive Committee. The Board also has a number of working committees, including an Investment Committee, Real Estate, Buildings, and Grounds Committee, Finance Committee, Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center Board, Academic Affairs Committee, Emory Development and Communications Committee, Campus Life Committee, and Committee on Governance, Trusteeship, and Nominations.

Scope and Content Note

Records of the Emory University Board of Trustees include meeting minutes of both the full Board of Trustees and the Executive Committee, which include records of votes and resolutions as well as reports and recommendations related to university finances, campus planning, student life, faculty appointments, and other issues; reports to the Board of Trustees from the University President and working committees; records of the Board of Visitors; and administrative material including awards, bylaws and charters, clippings, public statements, and membership rosters.

Arrangement Note

Organized into four series: (1) Administrative records, (2) Board of Trustees minutes, (3) Board of Visitors records, and (4) Executive Committee minutes.