The Commission on University Governance at Duke University was created in April 1969 by Chancellor pro tem Barnes Woodhall. The group was charged with studying changes in university organization nationwide to create a model for administration at Duke. The group also focused on increasing student participation in university governance. The records include minutes, memoranda, correspondence, and reports produced by the Commission on University Governance, as well as reports, clippings, and other printed matter gathered by the Commission for reference purposes. The Commission published its findings and recommendations in three "Interim Reports," concerning the Board of Trustees, the Central Administration, and Departmental Governance. English.

The records of the Commission on University Governance span the years 1969 to 1971, with most of the material dating from 1969-1970 academic year. The collection is organized into two series: materials created by the Commission, and materials collected by the Commission.

The records generated by the Commission on University Governance consist primarily of minutes and transcripts of its official meetings, including supplementary materials distributed for discussion at these meetings. Typed transcript drafts exist for meetings 1 through 19, and this series contains minutes for all 34 meetings. Also included in this series are two copies of each of the Commission's three Interim Reports (Board of Trustees, Central Administration, and Departmental Governance), as well as drafts of these reports. Other official Commission records include information on the Commission's members and clippings from the Chronicle, Durham Morning Herald, and Durham Sun dated September 30, 1969 to April 16, 1970 concerning the work of the Commission. Correspondence not included with Commission minutes is divided into two folders: 1) letters dated April to September 1969, all regarding the establishment of the Commission, and 2) official correspondence dated after that time, including a January 1970 introduction to the Commission's activities for new Duke President Terry Sanford and a January 1971 response to the Commission's Interim Reports from the Provost.

The Commission on University Governance amassed a significant collection of reference materials for use in formulating its reports, which are roughly arranged into subseries. It appears that members of the Commission twice attempted to catalog and collate these materials, as two indexes entitled "Materials on Hand" and "Table of Contents" are a part of this series. However, neither index is accompanied by a complete set of the materials listed on it. To preserve original order, the sections of listed materials that are present have been identified and retained, even when they duplicate each other. Printed matter that was not a part of either of these subseries falls into two categories: reports and other matter from Duke committees, schools, and organizations, and printed matter that was created by other universities and organizations. This series also contains several bibliographies, arranged both by subject and by format, as well as periodical abstracts, alphabetized by author, donated to the Commission from the Special Committee on Student Residential Life. Also present in this series are the complete minutes of the Chancellor's Advisory Committee, known as the Committee of Twelve, which met nineteen times between October 1969 and March 1970, when it was disbanded.

University Archives also has catalogued copies of the Commission's three Interim Reports: Board of Trustees - 378.756 D877CTR Central Administration - 378.756 D877CGO Departmental Governance - 378.756 D877CDG