Collection KA/PB - ACADEMIC BOARD: King's College London committee records

Key Information

Reference code

KA/PB

Title

ACADEMIC BOARD: King's College London committee records

Date(s)

  • 1868-1990 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent

41 boxes and volumes

Scope and content

The records of the General Board/Professorial Board/Academic Board and the Committee of Deans at King's College consist of minute books, agenda books, guard books and other papers, 1868-1990; notably including a set of minutes of the Board, 1868-1990, specifically manuscript minute books with signatures, 1868-1948, typescript minute books with signatures, 1948-1980; unsigned typescript minute books, 1980-1985, loose unsigned minutes, 1985- 1990, with rough minutes, 1869-1898 (Ref: KCLCA KA/PB/M, KA/PB/MP, KA/G/RM); agenda books summarising the minutes of the main series, 1910-1980, and also the main Faculty Board Committee minutes, 1904-1915 (Ref: KCLCA KA/PB/AM); guard books containing typescript reports presented to the Board and the various sub-committees of the Board, 1927-1970 (Ref: KCLCA KA/PB/GB); signature books of members of the Professorial Board and the Faculty Boards, 1919-1935 (Ref: KCLCA KA/PB/SB); minutes of the Professorial Board General Purposes Committee, 1969- 1980; Professorial Board Public Lectures Committee minutes, 1958-1960 (Ref: KCLCA KA/PBS/M); minutes of the Committee of Deans (Ref: KCLCA KA/DE/M); manuscript terms of reference for the Board including notes on its origins, 1870 (Ref: KCLCA KA/PB/RG). The range of topics covered is very broad, including examinations, endowments, public and special lectures, student residences, women students, King's College Hospital, Library, relations with the University of London and the King's Council and Delegacy, and especially staff appointments, obituaries and the development of individual departments and faculties. The more recent volumes of the minutes of the Committee of Deans also contain circulars and memoranda relating to the strategic development of the College.

System of arrangement

Minutes, agenda and guard books are arranged in chronological order with usually several years covered by each volume. Surviving Faculty Board Minutes are mainly described with related Faculty or Departmental records.

General Information

Name of creator

(1980)

Biographical history

The General Board was a committee of representatives of the teaching staff that was officially recognised by the Council in 1870. The General Board was chaired by the Principal and comprised the most senior representatives of each department or faculty board, who were styled Deans. The purpose of the General Board was to guide educational policy and provision in areas such as syllabuses and examinations, and was answerable to the College Council. In 1910, the General Board was renamed the Professorial Board of the University of London, King's College. This followed the King's College London (Transfer) Act of 1908 that had incorporated King's in the University of London, separated and made independent of the College, the Hospital and School, and legally divided the remaining departments into two institutions: a secular University of London, King's College, and the Theological Faculty, heir to the title of King's College London. During this period of division until 1980, both institutions retained separate Professorial Boards. The reunification of the two halves of King's in 1980 witnessed the restructuring of these Professorial Boards as a single Academic Board, constituting the main academic committee of the College.

Custodial history

King's College London Academic Board

Conditions governing access

Open, subject to signature of Reader's undertaking form, and appropriate provision of two forms of identification, to include one photographic ID.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copies, subject to the condition of the original, may be supplied from open material for research purposes only.

Requests to publish original material should be submitted to the Archives.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Finding aids

Brief handlists of the contents are available in hard copy in the College Archives reading room.

Related materials

King's College London Archives: Council and Delegacy minutes (Ref: KCLCA KA/C/M, KA/D/M), the main Secretarial, Registry and Principal's Office series also contain related material (Ref: KCLCA KAS, KAR, KAP). See also Theological Professorial Board minutes (Ref: KCLCA KA/TB/M) and Subject Boards and Faculty minutes including the Faculty of Natural Science (KFN/M).

Related descriptions

Alternative identifier(s)

Place access points

Genre access points

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000.

Script(s)

Archivist's note

Entry compiled by Geoff Browell

Accession area