Identifier

UA 50.6

Dates

1923-1961

Extent

0.84 linear feet (2 document cases)

Abstract

The Administrative Council discussed questions of administration or policy brought forth by the president, or to discuss any other questions brought up the any council member. The collection consists of minutes of the meetings and some correspondence of both the Administrative Council and its predecessor, the Council of Deans.

Historical Note

The Administrative Council was the new name given to the Council of Deans in 1942. The Committee of Deans, in existence from 1923, had been made up of the deans of the various areas on campus, including the colleges and the Deans of Men and Women. The Council made decisions on such things as campus rules, students' requests to expand their course load, student absences and disciplinary actions. Also discussed at meetings were administrative matters such as the institution of a vocational course and changing credits for certain courses. The Council approved candidates for degrees and the college calendar. It is not clear whether the president was always included in these meetings, although his name often appears on the minutes.

The name change to Administrative Council did not signify any major changes within the focus of the group. Throughout its lifespan, the nature of the material discussed and decisions made at these meetings remained the same as previous. By the mid 1950's, however, the Council had expanded to include faculty representatives from the Faculty Association.

By 1955, when the council is first mentioned in the Faculty Handbook, the group met weekly with the president to discuss questions of administration or policy brought forth by the president, or to discuss any other questions brought up the any council member. There is no indication of whether this was a decision making group, but as no other campus group fulfilled the decision making and policy making duties performed by the Council, it can be assumed that they continued to perform these functions. At this time, the president served as the chairman of the Administrative Council. This brief description remains in the Faculty Handbook until the 1970 edition, when first mention is made of the Academic Senate, which did take over the decision-making and policymaking roles outlined above.

Content Notes

This collection is composed of the minutes of the meetings and some correspondence of both the Administrative Council and its predecessor, the Council of Deans. For the most part, the minutes are extremely business-like, showing mainly the names and process of certain actions. They do have some interesting facts related to the running of the college, and some of the disciplinary actions and causes for them prove quite amusing. The correspondence file, although quite small, consists mainly of material relating to whether or not someone may not be admitted back to school. Other correspondence refers to the happenings in the various meetings, but this is quite limited. Overall, the material offers a look at some of the administrative concerns and issues surrounding the administration of the land grant institution.

SDSU Archives and Special Collections

Follow this link for more information:

https://www.sdstate.edu/sdsu-archives-and-special-collections/university-archives

Language

English

Publisher

South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota.

Rights

Copyright restrictions apply in different ways to different materials. Many of the documents and other historical materials in the Archives are in the public domain and may be reproduced and used in any way. There are other materials in the Archive carrying a copyright interest and must be used according to the provisions of Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Archive issues a warning concerning copyright restrictions to every researcher who requests copies of documents. Although the copyright law is under constant redefinition in the courts, it is ultimately the responsibility of the researcher to properly use copyrighted material.

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