Records Authority Statement
Approved by the Board of Trustees, February 9, 2001
This Statement has been superseded by the University
Records Policy, approved February 22, 2007.
The Tufts University Archives was established by the Board of Trustees
in 1962 in recognition of the need to preserve official University records,
files, and documents of permanent value. This statement further clarifies
the authority and responsibility of the University Archives.
All administrative offices of the University, and members of the faculty
whose performance of administrative duties, e.g., committee responsibilities,
or chairs of academic departments, put them in possession of files, records,
or documents concerning their official duties, are expected to observe
the following guidelines:
- The records of the official activities of the university, including
papers and correspondence, official printed material, minutes, committee
files, financial, and associated records in any format, are the property
of Tufts University and may constitute archival material.
- Archival material in University offices may not be destroyed or placed
in storage without the approval of (a) the supervising department where
the records accumulate, and (b) the office of the University Archives.
- The staff or faculty member in charge of the department where the
records accumulate, or the staff or faculty member in charge of the
records of official committees, in consultation with the office of the
University Archives, and in compliance with state and federal laws and
university records schedules will be responsible for deciding how long
inactive records are to be retained in and under direct control of the
office, prior to disposition (i.e., destruction or transfer to the archives).
- Material selected for preservation shall be sent to the University
Archives in accordance with a records schedule developed by the University
Archives, in consultation with the staff or faculty in charge of the
department where the records accumulate. All records preserved in the
Archives remain the records of the office of origin and may be withdrawn
at any time by that office for its own use. Material scheduled for destruction
shall be destroyed in accordance with the procedures called for in the
records schedule developed by the University Archives, in consultation
with the staff or faculty in charge of the department where the records
accumulate.
- The office of the University Archives shall consult with appropriate
staff or faculty regarding any special conditions of access that may
be placed on any category of records. It is understood that in the absence
of specific restrictions, all materials transferred to the Archives
will be open to researchers on a non-discriminatory basis according
to the general policy on access to the collections.
The University Archives welcomes the offer of privately owned material
bearing on the history of the University, provided that the Archives incurs
no obligation to retain such material as an integrated collection or in
any prescribed form.