Office of the President: Board of Visitors Records

Access and use

Location of collection:
James Madison University
Second Floor Room 203, MSC 1704
Carrier Library
James Madison University
880 Madison Drive
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Tiffany Cole
Phone: (540) 568-3444
Phone: (540) 568-3612
Fax: (540) 568-3405
Restrictions:

Collection is open to research. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection. Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the James Madison University Special Collections Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

Copyright for materials authored or otherwise produced as official business of James Madison University is retained by James Madison University. Copyright status for other collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. For more information, contact the Special Collections Reference Desk (library-special@jmu.edu).

Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Office of the President: Board of Visitors, 1908-2025, UA 0010, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Summary

Extent:
11.89 cubic feet 36 boxes
Abstract:
The Office of the President: Board of Visitors Records document the activities of the James Madison University Board of Visitors and its predecessor, the Board of Trustees. Materials include meeting minutes, correspondence, financial documents, and president's reports.
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[identification of item], [box #, folder #], Office of the President: Board of Visitors, 1908-2025, UA 0010, Special Collections, Carrier Library, James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA.

Background

Scope and content:

The Office of the President: Board of Visitors Records document the activities of the James Madison University Board of Visitors and its predecessor, the Board of Trustees. The collection is comprised primarily of meeting minutes and correspondence. Minutes from the Board of Visitors' first meeting on July 16, 1964 are included. Researchers should note that meeting minutes from the various iterations of university governing bodies between 1914 and 1963 are not included. The correspondence is chiefly official memoranda, letters concerning business and new board members, and contractual agreements granting faculty members temporary leaves of absence. The collection also includes annual reports and reports to the Board of Visitors, financial materials documenting lease agreements involving James Madison University, athletic program expenditure statements, and audit reports. Miscellaneous items include documents explaining the origins of buildings' names, a Board of Visitors manual, and a document of Board of Visitors Resolutions.

This series comprises chiefly Board of Visitors meeting minutes from 1964 to 2025 beginning with the first meeting on July 16, 1964. During that first meeting the members decided on the official design for "The Visitors of Madison College," agreed upon making the meetings of the Visitors closed to the public, approved of the revised faculty salary, and approved the continuation of degrees being offered to students. Also included is the original Board of Trustees minute book dating from 1908 to 1914. A full transcript is also contained within this series.

This series contains correspondence between fellow board members, government officials, and members of the university administration. Contract agreements between board members and faculty of the college are included. Topics of interest include but are not limited to campus construction and related funding, appropriation increases, project requests, requests related to enrollment increases, G. Tyler Miller's retirement, and faculty promotions.

This series contains documents about the naming of buildings on campus as well as information on resolutions, manuals, honorary degrees and the Russell Weaver Society.

The reports contain data regarding enrollment, campus services, faculty salaries, and financial records. Also included are recommendations from the president on approvals of resignations and appointments, budget increases, academic changes, campus expansion, etc. These reports provide an overview of the administrative proceedings of the university from one year to the next and are comprised of reports to the State Board of Education, reports to the Board of Visitors, annual reports, and special reports.

Subseries 5.1: Leases/Legal Documents, 1922-1981, is comprised primarily of lease agreements between James Madison University, both as the lessor and lessee, and persons or companies. Of particular interest are the fire insurance documents which include a Schedule of Buildings at the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg (June 2, 1924) and a Fire Insurance Report on State Teacher's College, Harrisonburg, Virginia (February 1932) prepared by the Philadelphia Fire & Marine Insurance Company. The Schedule of Buildings lists all campus buildings, their architectural type, date of erection, and total cost. The Fire Insurance Report provides a detailed description of all campus buildings (including University Farm properties in Port Republic) and includes date of erection, occupancy, recommendations, estimated insurable value, and campus map. Photographs are included with each building description.

List of campus buildings detailed (with photographs) in the fire insurance report:

  1. Spotswood Hall
  2. Sheldon Hall
  3. Johnston Hall
  4. Alumnae Hall
  5. Walter Reed Hall (Keezell Hall)
  6. Wilson Hall
  7. Maury Hall (Gabbin Hall)
  8. Jackson Hall (Darcus Johnson Hall)
  9. Harrison Hall
  10. Ashby Hall (Harper Allen-Lee Hall)
  11. Hillcrest House
  12. Practice House (Varner House)
  13. Cleveland Cottage
  14. Carter House
  15. Cottage No. 2
  16. Stable
  17. Practice House (Hooke House) - University Farm, Port Republic
  18. Duke Cottage - University Farm, Port Republic
  19. Barn - University Farm, Port Republic
  20. Caretaker's Dwelling - University Farm, Port Republic

Subseries 5.2: Budget Reports, 1961-1989, contains annual reports, financial reports detailing the university's business and financial operations, reports on audits prepared by the auditor of public accounts for the Commonwealth of Virginia, and a limited amount of material related to athletic program expenses. Researchers should note that the 1966 expenditure statement for athletics is not included in this collection.

Biographical / historical:

James Madison University's Board of Visitors was created in 1964 with the prime directive of overseeing the effective government of the university, then Madison College. When the institution opened in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the governing body was its own Board of Trustees. The school changed its name to the State Normal School for Women at Harrisonburg in 1914 and governance was shifted to the Virginia Normal School Board, a state agency. The institution was renamed once again in 1924 to the State Teachers College at Harrisonburg. The governance also experienced change as control was transferred to the State Board of Education. In 1964, the final change occurred when the Virginia General Assembly established independent boards of visitors for each of the state's former teacher colleges.

The Governor of Virginia holds the power of appointing each member of the Board of Visitors. The first Board of Visitors was comprised of 11 members; its first rector was Burr P. Harrison. The Virginia General Assembly acted to have the board size increased to 15 members in 1989. Of the selected members, no more than two can be non-Virginians and board members include both JMU alumni and non-alumni. In addition to appointed members, a student representative and the speaker of the JMU Faculty Senate serve on the board. Terms of service do apply as board members are not eligible to serve more than two consecutive four-year terms. Officers of the board (rector, vice rector, and secretary) are elected annually by the board for one-year terms.

Acquisition information:
This collection was formed from the merger of several groups of materials received from Fred Hilton in JMU Media Relations (accessions 93-0107, 93-0210), Gail May in the President's Office (accessions 99-1122, 00-0215), and Machelle Rader in the President's Office (2005-0519). These accessions were combined under the collection number PR 99-1122. An additional accrual of BoV minutes, 2002-2025, was received in July 2025 and integrated into the collection in August 2025.
Processing information:

The collection was reprocessed in 2016 and contains all documents from the original accession (PR 99-1122) except for the Faculty Minutes, 1908-1998, which were removed to form a separate collection (UA 0011). A copy of the original finding aid is located in the collection control file. Old collection folders were reused during reprocessing and folder titles were retained when possible. Inserts found in the Board of Trustees Minute Book were removed and foldered separately. The inserts were subsequently photocopied and those copies are also foldered separately. The Board of Visitors meeting minutes and President's Reports were originally bound, but were disbound in 2016 during reprocessing.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into five series. Series 5 is arranged further into subseries. All series are arranged chronologically with the exception of subseries 5.1 which is arranged alphabetically and subseries 5.2 which is arranged topically.

  1. Meeting Minutes, 1908-2025
  2. Correspondence, 1964-1995
  3. Miscellaneous, 1981-1994
  4. President's Reports, 1909-1967
  5. Financial Documents, 1922-1989

Arranged chronologically.

Arranged chronologically.

Arranged chronologically.

Arranged chronologically.

Arranged in two subseries – Subseries 5.1: Leases/Legal Documents, 1922-1981, and Subseries 5.2: Budget Reports, 1961-1989. Subseries 5.1 is arranged alphabetically and Subseries 5.2 is arranged topically.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard