George Washington University. Board of Trustees

The management, direction, and government of George Washington University is vested in a Board of Trustees. Pursuant to the by-laws of the University, the Board consists of the President as an ex officio member, three alumni or alumnae members elected to the Board at each annual meeting for terms of three years; with one alumni Trustee being a "recent graduate" who serves for one term of three years and two Alumni Trustees serving for a maximum of two terms of three years; and the balance of not less than thirty nor more than forty-five persons, each elected to the Board for three year terms. The University operates under a charter granted by an Act of Congress on February 9, 1821 to the Columbian College in the District of Columbia. In 1873, the name was changed to Columbian University and in 1904 to The George Washington University. From 1872 to 1900 the Board of Trustees was known as the Board of Overseers. Former prominent members represented in this collection include: Luther Rice, John Quincy Adams, Peter Force, Joseph Henry, William Corcoran, Amos Kendall, Edward Gallaudet, Alexander Graham Bell, Gilbert Grosvenor, Ulysses S. Grant III, and J. Edgar Hoover. N.B. This history note was written in 2005