Massachusetts. Board of Trustees of State Colleges.

The Board of Trustees of State Colleges was established by St 1965, c 73 to govern the eleven institutions of higher education that comprised the Massachusetts State College System.

The roots of the Massachusetts State College system can be traced to the founding of state normal schools in Lexington and Barre in 1839 (later relocated respectively in Framingham and Westfield), followed by the founding of normal schools in Bridgewater (1840), Salem (1854), Worcester (1874), and then others. Under the authority of the Board of Education, these schools offered one- and two-year teacher training programs. They were also the first publicly supported, publicly controlled state institutions of higher education in Massachusetts. Their designation changed in 1932 from normal schools to state teachers colleges (St 1932, c 127, s 9) and in 1960 to state colleges (St 1960, c 403, s 6).

Until 1952 state colleges were under the direct control of the Department of Education. St 1952, c 585, s 9 mentioned for the first time a Division of Teachers Colleges to have general administrative and managerial control of the state teachers colleges. The division was renamed the Division of State Colleges in 1960 by the same legislation that changed the designation of teachers colleges to state colleges.

In 1963 legislation provided for a separate governing board to have direct control over the state colleges. The Board of Trustees of the State Colleges was established by St 1963, c 642 as an autonomous governing and coordinating board with jurisdiction over eleven institutions, including Boston, Bridgewater, Fitchburg, Framingham, Lowell, North Adams, Salem, Westfield, Worcester state colleges, the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, and from 1964 the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (St 1964, c 561).

The Division of State Colleges continued to exist in the Department of Education with administrative responsibility for state colleges, but was placed under the sole control of the newly created board.

Comprised of the commissioner of education, members of the Board of Education, and a state college president, the Board of Trustees of the State Colleges held the authority, responsibility, rights, and powers customarily exercised by governing boards of institutions of higher learning. These included the authority to adopt, amend, and repeal rules and regulations pertaining to academic as well as administrative aspects of state colleges and their faculty, students, and staff. In addition the board was responsible for identifying financial needs of the colleges, determining and presenting final budget recommendations to the legislature, and allocating resources among the colleges.

In 1965 higher education in Massachusetts was reorganized and a Board of Higher Education established with responsibilities over all institutions of public higher education (St 1965, c 572). Under this legislation the Board of Trustees of the State Colleges was abolished and a new Board of Trustees of State Colleges was created. This board performed the same function as its predecessor but its membership changed to consist of eleven residents of the Commonwealth, to be appointed by the governor, at least two of whom were to be women. St 1969, c 256 made the chancellor of the Board of Higher Education a member ex officio. (His status was changed to nonvoting member by St 1970, c 256.) Additionally, St 1965, c 572 provided for an advisory commission to the board of trustees to consist of five professional educators, three of whom were to be presidents of state colleges and two to be representatives from independent institutions of higher education in the Commonwealth, all to be appointed by the governor.

In the early 1970s the term "Massachusetts State College System" became formally used to refer to the eleven colleges that the board governed, although it was never authorized by statute.

The Board of Trustees of State Colleges was abolished in 1980 by legislation that again reorganized higher education in the Commonwealth (St 1980, c 329, s 112). The board's powers and duties over colleges in the Massachusetts State College System were split between the newly created Board of Regents of Higher Education and the individual institutional boards of trustees governed by the Board of Regents.

From the description of Agency history record. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 145429281