Chapter CLXII. *to incorporate the Howard University in the District of Columbia.* March 2, 1867. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * The Howard University incorporated in the District of Columbia
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CHAP. CLXII.— An Act *to incorporate the Howard University in the District of Columbia.* March 2, 1867. *Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, * The Howard University incorporated in the District of Columbia. That there be established, ands is hereby established, in the District of Columbia, a university for the education of youth in the liberal arts and sciences, under the name, style, and title of “The Howard University.
” Sec. 2. Corporators. *And be it further enacted, *That Samuel C. Pomeroy, Charles B. Boynton, Oliver O. Howard, Burton C. Cook, Charles H. Howard, James B. Hutchinson, Henry A. Brewster, Benjamin F. Morris, Danforth B. Nichols, William G. Finney, Roswell H. Stevens, E. M. Cushman, Hiram Barbour, E. W. Robinson, W. F. Bascom, J. B. Johnson, and Silas L. Loomis, be, and they are hereby, declared to be a body politic Corporate name and powers.and corporate, with perpetual succession in deed or in law to all intents and purposes whatsoever, by the name, style, and title of “The Howard University,” by which name and title they and their successors shall be competent, at law and in equity, to take to themselves and their successors, for the use of said university, any estate whatsoever in any messuage, lands, tenements, hereditaments, goods, chattels, moneys, and other effects, by gift, devise, grant, donation, bargain, sale, conveyance, assurance, or will; and the same to grant, bargain, sell, transfer, assign, convey, assure, demise, declare, to use and farm let, and to place out on interest, for the use of said university, in such manner as to them, or a majority of them, shall be deemed most beneficial to said institution; and to receive the same, their rents, issues, and profits, income and interest, and to apply the same for the proper use and benefit of said university; and by the same name to sue and be sued, to implead and be imple[a]ded, in any courts of law and equity, in all manner of suits, actions, and proceedings whatsoever, and generally by and in the same name to do and transact all and every Net annual income not to exceed $50,000 over, &c.the business touching or concerning the premises: *Provided,* That the same do not exceed the value of fifty thousand dollars net annual income, over and above and exclusive of the receipts for the education and support of the students of said university.
THIRTY-NINTH CONGRESS. Sess. II. Ch. 162, 163. 1867. 439 Sec. 3. *And be it further enacted, *That the first meeting of said corporatorsFirst meeting of corporators. shall be holden at the time and place at which a majority of the persons herein above named shall assemble for that purpose; and six days’ notice shall be given each of said corporators, at which meeting said corporatorsNotice. may enact by-laws not inconsistent with the laws of the UnitedBy-laws. States regulating the government of the corporation.
Sec. 4. *And be it further enacted, *That the government of the universityBoard of trustees, how elected; their powers and duties. shall be vested in a board of trustees, of not less than thirteen members, who shall be elected by the corporators at their first meeting. Said board of trustees shall have perpetual succession in deed or in law, and in them shall be vested the power hereinbefore granted to the corporation. They shall adopt a common seal, which they may alter at pleasure, underCommon seal. and by which all deeds, diplomas, and acts of the university shall pass and be authenticated.
They shall elect a president, a secretary, and aPresident, secretary, treasurer.Bond of treasurer.Professors, tutors, and other officers. treasurer. The treasurer shall give such bonds as the board of trustees may direct. The said board shall also appoint the professors and tutors, prescribing the number, and determining the amount of their respective salaries. They shall also appoint such other officers, agents, or employees, as the wants of the university may from time to time demand, in all cases fixing their compensation.
All meetings of said board may beMeetings of board; how called.Quorum. called in such manner as the trustees shall prescribe, and nine of them so assembled shall constitute a quorum to do business, and a less number may adjourn from time to time. Sec. 5. *And be it further enacted, *That the university shall consist ofUniversity to consist of what departments. the following departments, and such others as the board of trustees may establish: First, normal; second, collegiate; third, theological; fourth, law; fifth, medicine; sixth, agriculture.
Sec. 6. *And be it further enacted, *That the immediate governmentEach department to be governed by its faculty, subject, &c.Trustees to regulate course of study, &c. confer degrees, &c.; of the several departments, subject to the control of the trustees, shall be intrusted to their respective faculties, but the trustees shall regulate the course of instruction, prescribe, with the advice of the professors, the necessary text-books, confer such degrees, and grant such diplomas as are usually conferred and granted in other universities.
Sec. 7. *And be it further enacted, *That the board of trustees shallmay remove any professor or officer; have power to remove any professor or tutor or other officers connected with the institution, when, in their judgment, the interest of the university shall require it. Sec. 8. *And be it further enacted, *That the board of trustees shallto publish an annual report. publish an annual report, making an exhibit of the affairs of the university. Sec. 9. *And be it further enacted, *That no misnomer of the said corporationGifts, clevises, &c. not affected by a mistake in name. shall defeat or annul any donation, gift, grant, devise, or bequest to or from the said corporation.
Sec. 10. *And be it further enacted, *That the said corporation shall notFunds not to be employed in banking operations.Act may be altered or repealed. employ its funds or income, or any part thereof in banking operations or for any purpose or object other than those expressed in the first section of this act; and that nothing in this act contained shall be so construed as to prevent Congress from altering, amending, or repealing the same. Approved, March 2, 1867.