Board of Trustees Correspondence

The first Barnard College Board of Trustees, established in 1889, was made up of many veteran advocates of women’s education. These include Silas B. Brownell and Annie Nathan Meyer, each of whom were centrally involved in the 1883 and 1888 petitions to the Columbia Board of Trustees for the establishment of an affiliated institution of higher learning for women in New York City. The Board’s first presiding officials were the Rev. Arthur Brooks as Chair, Mrs. Joseph H. Choate as Vice-Chair, Jacob Schiff as Treasurer, and Hamilton Mabie as Secretary. These Board officers were succeeded by Abram S. Hewitt, Mrs. A.A. Anderson, George A. Plimpton, and Frederick Waite. Other prominent members of the first Barnard College Board of Trustees included Mrs. Francis B. Arnold, who would play an important role in the College’s development as the Chair of the Building Committee. Most notable was Miss Ella Weed, who would serve as the College’s first Dean before the title officially existed.

The Barnard College Board of Trustees oversees the College's financial, administrative, and curricular maters. The structure of the Board changed minimally during the College’s early years. Board members were initially appointed for life in accordance with the College’s charter and had broad responsibility for major administrative appointments and policy decisions. Initially, associate member positions to the Board were created in order to foster greater support for the College’s expansion. In 1898, alumnae member positions were added. The first alumnae appointed to such a position was Florence Colgate, who later earned permanent board membership. Other than this change, it was not until 1945, when the trustees voted to place seven-year term limits for all positions, that any changes were made. In 1950 the charter was amended to grant a “lifetime trustee” membership to Annie Nathan Meyer, a founder of the College, who had served on the Board since its inception.