Office of Controller Records, 1835-1995
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Administrative/Biographical History
ADMINISTRATIVE HISTORY
Records concerning Oberlin College's fiscal activities reflect the frequent upset in functional responsibilities and administrative relationships between the offices of the bursar, controller, and treasurer. Changes in custodianship of these files have further contributed to the varied collection. From the beginning until the present day, financial matters of the College have been governed under guidelines established by the board of trustees and/or a trustee committee appointed to oversee investments. Between 1833 and 1899, the treasurer also served as the official secretary of the corporation. These duties were divided in 1899, when a secretary's office was created.
Under the 1904 Constitution and By-Laws the college treasurer held responsibility for "funds, securities, investments, muniments of title, indicia of ownership, assets, property, choses in action, accounts and items of credit and things receivable by or belonging to the College." This officer maintained account books of assets and liabilities, receipts and expenditures, financial and property transactions, and trust funds, and prepared the annual balance sheet and financial report for the board of trustees. He also estimated the upcoming year's receipts in order to plan the budget, and determined each department's share in the general expenses of the institution. [In 1995, many of these financial duties belong to the controller's office.]
On the recommendation of the Investment Committee, the board voted in 1915 to assign management of investments to the Cleveland Trust Company or any legally constituted trust company in the state. From 1933 until 1942, an investment executive (also called investment officer) took the responsibilities of managing the College's investments and endowment away from the Treasurer's Office. The treasurer and the investment executive each reported directly to the president until 1942, when the board of trustees voted to unify the two offices.
The next significant step in the evolution of the financial management of the college occurred in 1955 with the creation of the position of business manager. Lewis R. Tower, in office from 1955 to 1971, was the first and only person to bear the title of business manager. This office was renamed as the vice president for business and finance during Dayton Livingston's tenure between 1971 and 1988. As Oberlin College's chief financial officers during their subsequent reigns, Tower and Livingston each reported directly to the president.
The controller's position was created in 1958, charged by President William E. Stevenson with the responsibility for general accounting procedures, including paying bills, reviewing proposed budgetary changes and transfers, preparing and distributing periodic departmental operating statements, and reconciling accounts with departmental records. The first controller, Arthur L. Cotton (previously an assistant to Lewis R. Tower), reported directly to the president during his tenure between 1958 and 1975. During this era, the treasurer was responsible for collecting tuition and fees, administering student loans, maintaining student account records, supervising finances for student organizations, and receiving gifts and donations. Cotton's successors, Richard B. Comstock (controller between 1975 and 1993) and Ronald Watts (beginning in 1994) reported in turn to the president, the vice president for business and finance (through 1988), the provost (through 1995), and the vice president of finance (1995- ).
When Roger Cooper retired as treasurer in 1984, an office of the bursar was created to report to the controller. Assigned to this office were the former duties of the treasurer (namely, receiving tuition, fees, gifts and donations, overseeing student accounts and loans, and supervising the finances of student organizations). Barbara A. Pitts, who had been the assistant treasurer until Cooper's retirement, became the bursar. Upon Pitts' retirement in 1991, David K. Laczko became bursar. Subsequently, in 1992, the office's title was changed to the Student Accounts Office. This office reports to the controller.
Between 1984 and 1989, Controller Comstock treated the treasurer's office as a "sub-department." In 1989, with the appointment of Charles Tharp, the position of the treasurer was once again redefined as a senior executive officer reporting to the president. The principal functions were providing staff support to the Trustee Investment Committee, evaluating and initiating investment policy, monitoring the performance of investment managers, supervising the investment of unitrusts and separately invested funds, and maintaining custodian and commercial bank relationships. The treasurer also was responsible for preparing budget projections of endowment income and recommending appropriate endowment payout policies, monitoring the activities of the Capital Ventures Office (now separate from the Development Office) in relation to policy guidelines established by the Investment Committee, negotiating lines of credit, and preparing materials and reports on these operations for the Trustee Investment Committee and the College administration. Charles Tharp resigned in August 1995. The treasurer's duties were reassigned to the new vice president of finance.
Forms of Material (links to similar genres) Administrative InformationSeries I and Series II were accessioned separately from Series III. The files from the third series were maintained by the Office of the Treasurer (1840-1984), the Bursar's Office (1984-1991), and the Controller's Office (1991-1994). According to a memorandum from David K. Laczko of the Student Accounts Office (to Roland M. Baumann, Archivist, 9/16/95), "Office of the Treasurer" documents were maintained in the Cox Administration Building until the Treasurer's office relocated to Peters Hall. The records were then transferred to storage in the basement of Peters Hall. The Student Accounts Office, inheritor of the bursar's duties in the Office of the Controller, moved from Peters Hall to the Carnegie Library Building in 1994. No longer pertinent to the operation of the Student Accounts Office, these records were moved to the Controller's Office storage room in the Service Building. The Oberlin College Archives subsequently accessioned these files because of their historical character.
In 2003 approximately 10.4 linear feet of records were received from the Office of the Controller. These records date from 1894 to 1967, and include files relating to the Investment Committee, budget and salary, personnel, construction, special programs, the Peace Corps, facilities and operations, tuition, and stock records.
The Controller's Office files are arranged in three records series: I. Annual Gift Reports, II. Annual Financial Reports, and III. Bursar/Treasurer's Files. Almost exclusively financial in nature, these records include reports, contracts, tax forms, grant papers, remittance information forms, memoranda, promissory notes, trust fund account statements, agreements, correspondence, invoices, land deeds and titles, and leases. They date from 1835 to 1994.
Accession 2003/053, dating from 1894 to 1967, is not interfiled. The major categories are Investment Committee, Budget and Salary, Special Programs, Personnel Files, Facilities and Operations, Peace Corps, Stock Records, and Miscellaneous. Separate inventory appears at the end of the processed records inventory.
SERIES DESCRIPTIONS
Series I. Annual Gift Reports, 1958-1973 (0.5 l.f.)
The Annual Gift Reports dating from Arthur L. Cotton's years as controller are arranged chronologically. The Controller's Office printed these reports as part of its fiduciary responsibilities as well as to encourage donations. As a public relations document, the annual gift reports were distributed to alumni, foundations, and Oberlin's academic community. While the format varies somewhat between 1958 and 1973, all reports contain the same basic information: grant categories (including but not limited to Endowment Funds, Plant Funds, and Current Funds), individual donors, and gift amounts. Sometime between 1973 and the present day, the Development Office assumed responsibility for these gift reports. A one-page summary of gift reports appears in the Annual Financial Report.
Series II. Annual Financial Reports, 1949-present (1.5 l.f.)
The Annual Financial Reports of Oberlin College are arranged chronologically. Presented to the Board of Trustees at their annual meeting, these documents record the year's financial operations at Oberlin College. As a formally published report, it contains summary and detailed information about funds, investments, income and expense, and trusts. The College Archives also holds these reports on microfilm and in hard-copy in Record Group 0 "College General."
Series III. Bursar/Treasurer's Files, 1835-1994 (14 l.f.)
The records from the Controller's Office, which include files inherited from both the Bursar's Office and the Treasurer's Office, date from 1835 to 1994, with bulk dates from 1930 to 1985. Records are arranged in five subseries: 1. Subject Files, 2. Remittance Information Forms, 3. Capital Venture Properties, 4. Retained Income and Prospective Gifts and 5. Properties. This arrangement reflects the subseries' original order when accessioned by the Oberlin College Archives.
Subseries 1. Subject Files, 1835-1994 (7 l.f.)
The Subject Files, which were created and maintained by the Treasurer's Office, are arranged alphabetically by folder title. Folder titles denote the names of individuals, companies, properties, or a subject. These records include informational and evidential documents in regard to funds (trust, reunion, memorial, tuition, scholarship, building, etc.), contracts, gifts, bequests, annuities, properties and buildings, endowments, scholarships, estates, bonds, tax forms, promissory notes, grants, pooled income, and leases.
The name or subject of some of these files appears in later series. For example, this series contains a folder on Esther Dobbins, but a folder with her name on it appears in Subseries 4 "Retained Income and Prospective Gifts."
Subseries 2. Remittance Information Forms, 1987-1988 (1.5 l.f.)
The files containing remittance information forms used by the Bursar's Office are arranged alphabetically by students' last names. Using these forms, students and/or their families could elect to remit payment in one or more of three areas. First, they could inform the college of Non-Oberlin scholarships and loans by providing the names and addresses of the person or organization providing funds, and the amount. The second option was to select a deferred payment plan, and third was the choice to waive Oberlin College's supplementary insurance plan by filling in existing health insurance coverage.
Subseries 3. Capital Venture Properties, 1986-1990 (0.5 l.f.)
The 25 folders in this subseries --once held by the bursar-- are arranged alphabetically by the donor's last name. This subseries is comprised almost entirely of inter-office memoranda from the Controller's Office asking the bursar to maintain promissory notes for purchase of residential properties in a vault for safekeeping. Although most original promissory notes do not appear in these files, some are attached to the memoranda.
Subseries 4. Retained Income and Prospective Gifts, 1944-1976 (1 l.f.)
The "Retained Income and Prospective Gifts" files were removed from drawers labeled, "Retained Income File: Cleveland Trust Co." and "Prospective Gifts, Philad. Bank, NDE - Student Loan Fund, TRSF - FISC College Loan." This subseries contains the agreements signed by donors to "sell, assign, transfer and deliver to [Oberlin College] and/or deposit with [Oberlin College] the property hereinafter described, to be held, managed, and controlled . . ." At different times, these records were handled independently by the investment executive or by the treasurer of Oberlin College, or by the investment executive under the treasurer's oversight. Included are signed agreements, deposit slips, transfer papers, letters and memoranda, and revocation documents.
Subseries 5. Properties, 1880-1985, (1.5 l.f.)
The property files, which were created and maintained by the Treasurer's Office, are arranged alphabetically by the property owner's name. This order reflects perceived user needs for accessing records; it is not the original order. When accessioned, folders at the front of the subseries were arranged in alphabetical order, and subsequently ordered by 7000 (property) numbers. All data from the original folders has been copied onto the acid-free folders currently housing the records. These records include purchase invoices, correspondence and memoranda, land deeds and titles, and leases. Oberlin College acquired properties largely located in the city's core streets: Cedar, College Park Lots, College, College Place, Elm, Elmwood, Forest, Lorain, Main, Morgan, Pleasant, Professor, Willard Court, and Woodland.