Overview
Prior to 1960, Northeastern University was divided into separate schools, each with its own Office of the Registrar. In 1960, the Office of the Registrar of the Basic Colleges introduced a data processing system and began to look at the possibility of bringing together all of the registrars. Merging of these individual offices began in 1963 with Lincoln College and continued through the 1960s with the addition of four new basic colleges between 1960 and 1966. By 1978 all sections of Northeastern University were under the direction of the combined Office of the Registrar.
Dates
- Creation: 1920-2000
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1950-1975
Creator
Conditions Governing Access:
Administrative records are closed for 25 years from their date of creation and student records are close for 75 years, unless researchers have written permission from the creating office.
Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use:
Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the University Archivist.
Historical Note
Before 1960, Northeastern University was divided into separate schools, each with its own Office of the Registrar. The School of Law, Evening Programs which developed into University College, Lincoln Institute, and the Basic Day Colleges each operated independently. The University's schools of Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Education, and Engineering were divided between the day and evening programs. The Office of the Registrar in each of these entities was a small operation responsible for overseeing and coordinating student registration, scheduling classes, and assuring that all academic records were properly maintained and updated. In 1960 two major changes occurred. First, University College, the newly founded branch of Northeastern that served as the overlying body for Evening Programs, was established. Second, a data processing system was introduced that allowed for more easily accessible records.
Beginning in the 1960s, the individual registrars began to converge. Lincoln Institute, which offered technology programs, changed its name to Lincoln College and joined the university wide registrar in 1963, while University College remained its own entity. In 1966, reorganization of the day college registrars was undertaken due to the founding of four new colleges since 1960: Boston-Bouvé College, College of Criminal Justice, College of Nursing, and College of Pharmacy. With the growth of elective programs in the late 1960s, the previously used method of automatic registration had to be abandoned and a new keypunch card system was implemented. 1969 saw the merging of the Day Colleges and their graduate counterparts into the same office under Rudolph H. Morris. In 1973, the Office of the Registrar microfilmed all of its records up to 1972. As a result, the amount of storage space was decreased, the records more usable, and they were less vulnerable to misplacement. The merger of university registrar offices was completed in 1978 when the School of Law and Continuing Education were absorbed.
Chronology
- Office of the Registrar, Day Colleges
- 1920-1944
- John B. Pugsley
- 1944-1946
- Winthrop E. Nightingale
- 1946-1949
- John B. Pugsley
- 1949-1970
- Rudolph H. Morris
- 1970-1975
- Alan A. Mackey
- Office of the Registrar, Evening Programs
- 1918-1920
- Marie C. Fausel
- 1920-1925
- John B. Pugsley
- Office of the Registrar, Evening Programs and Lincoln Institute
- 1925-1931
- Roy M. Lawson
- 1931-1944
- Eben O. Smith
- 1944-1948
- Helen M. Stoddard
- 1948-1951
- Carl A. Georgi
- 1951-1952
- Walter J. Hunt
- 1952-1953
- Lincoln Bateson
- 1953-1957
- William M. Stewart
- Office of the Registrar, Evening Programs, Lincoln Institute, and University College
- 1957-1965
- William T. Edgett
- 1965-1970
- Edmund J. Mullen
- 1970-1973
- John L. O'Leary, Jr.
- 1973-1978
- David R. Kane
- Office of the Registrar, Graduate School
- 1959-1969
- Janice Walker
- Office of the Registrar, School of Law
- 1922-1924
- Turner F. Garner
- 1924-1931
- Roy M. Lawson
- 1931-1939
- Eben O. Smith
- 1939-1945
- Edna E. Rawnsley
- 1945-1948
- Doris E. Koch
- 1948-1953
- Carmelita E. Geraci
- 1966-1969
- Barbra F. Burke
- 1969-1973
- Denise A. Smith
- 1973-1978
- Marianne F. Radziewicz
- Office of the University Registrar
- 1975-1998
- Edmund J. Mullen
- 1998-present
- Linda D. Allen
Extent
2.55 cubic feet (4 containers)
Language
English
System of Arrangement:
Organized alphabetically by subject.
Physical Location
32/3
Bibliography
- Frederick, Antoinette, Northeastern University: An Emerging Giant, 1959-1975 (Boston: Northeastern University Custom Book Program, 1982).
Subject
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.) -- Administration (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.) -- Curricula (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.) -- Enrollment (Organization)
- Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). Office of the Registrar (Organization)
- Title
- Finding aid for the Office of the Registrar Records
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Ellen Lassiter
- Date
- November 2005
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Northeastern University Archives and Special Collections Repository