Regents, Board of

The University of Maryland Board of Regents is the governing body of the university. The original predecessor or the board was the board of regents of the College of Medicine of Maryland which was incorporated in 1807. The immediate predecessor of the board was the Maryland Agricultural College Trustees. By the Act of 1916 the college became the Maryland State College of Agriculture and the trustees became the State Board of Agriculture. In addition, in 1920, the board of agriculture became the regents of the newly-formed University of Maryland; the new university was established when the University of Maryland in Baltimore and the Maryland State College merged.

The Board of Regents is comprised of Maryland citizens who volunteer their time and energy to govern the University of Maryland. The Act of 1916 gives the board responsibility for selecting the executive head of the university, department heads, professors, teachers, instructors and other officials and for determining their salaries. With the advice of the president of the university, the board may also make rules, by-laws, and orders determining and regulating instruction, provided they do not conflict with the constitution and laws of the State.

Originally established to have 9 members, by 1988 there were 14 members on the board. In 1974, two students with voting privileges were added to the board after the College Park Student Government Association persuaded the General Assembly of the need for student representation on the board. Executive officers and the chairmen of the board (for the period covered by these records) are listed below.

In addition to the members' role as the University of Maryland Board of Regents, they also had responsibilities as the State Board of Agriculture. The Agricultural Advisory Board of Maryland was established in 1962 with the goal of identifying agricultural problems in Maryland and bringing them to the attention of the State Board of Agriculture. The Advisory Board also made suggestions and initiated programs which would lead to the improvement of agriculture. The board was composed of members representing all sections of the state, in addition to at-large members. The chairman from 1961-1963 was John B. Foard III followed by Stephen M. Kahoe, Jr. from 1964-1965. The final chairperson of the board was Lawrence E. Downey, 1966-1968. In September of 1968 the Agricultural Advisory Board was replaced by the Maryland Agricultural Commission, chaired by Mr. Y. D. Hance. The State Board of Agriculture was abolished on January 1, 1973, when the Department of Agriculture assumed the board's responsibilities.

On April 4, 1988 the Maryland General Assembly, with the support of the Board of Regents, passed a bill which established a new Board of Regents for the University of Maryland System. The board is responsible for the eleven campuses and four research and service components of the University of Maryland System.

From the guide to the Board of Regents records, 1916-1990, null, (University of Maryland)