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GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD ARCHIVES (1901-1964) - 1967

Size: 350 cubic feet

Contents: The collection includes correspondence, surveys, reports, studies, diaries, publications, minutes, and administrative records.

Arrangement: The General Education Board (GEB) Archives are arranged in twelve series and subseries:
  1. Appropriations
  2. Financial
  3. Minutes and Dockets
  4. Officers Actions
  5. Officers Conferences
  6. Charts
  7. Reports
  8. Annual Reports
  9. Trustee Bulletins
  10. Authorizations and Appropriations
  11. Occasional Papers
  12. Diaries (diaries of living officers are closed)
Photograph collection: Yes

Organizational History: The General Education Board (GEB) was established in 1903 by John D. Rockefeller to aid education in the U.S. "without distinction of race, sex or creed." The program included grants for endowment and general budgetary support of colleges and universities, support for special programs, fellowship and scholarship assistance to state school systems at all levels, and development of social and economic resources as a route to improved educational systems. Major colleges and universities across the U.S., as well as many small institutions in every state, received aid from the Board. The emphasis, however, was on the South and the education of Blacks. Offices were established in Richmond, Virginia and Baton Rouge, Louisiana to give GEB agents closer contact with southern communities. The Board was especially active in promoting the public school movement in the early part of the 20th century. After 1940, programs other than those for southern education were brought to a close; funds were nearly exhausted by the 1950s, and the last appropriation was made in 1964.

Available Finding Aids:
Early Southern Program
Southern Secondary and Elementary Education

Also Available: Portions of the General Education Board collection are commercially available on microfilm: Series 1.1, Early Southern Program (Product No. S3298) and Series 1.3, New Southern Program (Product No. S3350) are available for purchase from: Scholarly Resources Inc., 104 Greenhill Avenue., Wilmington, Delaware 19805-1897, Tel.: 1-800-772-8937 Fax: 302-654-3871 e-mail: sr@scholarly.com Online guides for the microfilm collections are available through Scholarly Resources, Inc.


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Did you know...

John D. Rockefeller Sr. was the major financial supporter of the University of Chicago.