Article I Authority

Section 1.1 Founding. 

Amos Kendall, Postmaster General in Andrew Jackson’s Cabinet, founded the Columbia Institution for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb and Blind in 1856 in recognition of the need for special instruction for persons with disabilities. He retained Edward Miner Gallaudet as the school’s first superintendent. 

Section 1.2 Acts of Congress. 

The United States Congress incorporated the Columbia Institution on February 16, 1857 (11 Stat. 161). Ninety-seven years later, the 83rd Congress amended the Charter to change the name to Gallaudet College, defining its corporate powers, providing for its organization and administration, expanding the Board of Directors, authorizing permanent congressional appropriations, and defining the purposes of Gallaudet to provide education and training to deaf persons and otherwise to further the education of deaf people (P.L. 83-420). Later, Congress expanded the mission of the College to include the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (P.L. 89-694) and the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (P.L. 91- 587). In 1986, Congress enacted the Education of the Deaf Act of 1986, which changed the name to Gallaudet University (P.L. 99-371). The Education of the Deaf Act was amended and reauthorized effective October 7, 1998 (P.L. 105 244). Those acts (collectively, the “Acts of Congress”), together with other provisions of law applicable to the University, are the supreme law of Gallaudet University. 

Section 1.3 Name. 

The educational institution is named in honor of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, founder and head of the first free public and permanent school for deaf and hard of hearing persons in the United States. As used herein, the term “University” shall mean Gallaudet University, including the Model Secondary School for the Deaf and the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School. 

Section 1.4 Corporate Nature and Control. 

The University is a private, nonprofit, tax-exempt corporation created by the Acts of Congress, which operates under the direction and control of the Board of Trustees of Gallaudet University (hereinafterreferred to as “the Board of Trustees” or “the Board”). While the University holds title to its assets, it cannot transfer real property without the approval of the United States Secretary of Education. 

Section 1.5 Accreditation. 

The undergraduate and graduate schools of the University are fully accredited by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges, and the Model Secondary School for the Deaf and the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School are fully accredited by the Middle States Association and the Conference of Educational Administrators Serving the Deaf. It is the policy of the University to maintain this 

accreditation and work toward full accreditation in all fields by appropriate accrediting agencies. 

Section 1.6 Principal Office. 

The registered office of the University is Kendall Green, 800 Florida Avenue, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20002-3695. 

Section 1.7 Fiscal Year. 

The fiscal year of the University is October 1 to September 30. 

Section 1.8 Seal. 

The official seal of the University shall be two concentric circles between which shall be the words “Universitas – 1864 – Gallaudetensis,” the name and the date to be separated by stars. In the center of the seal shall be nine signs of the Manual Alphabet and Syriac Lexicon letters, signifying Ephphatha (Be Opened), an open book, and a shield. An impression of the seal shall be made upon the original copy of these Bylaws in the official records of the Board. 

Section 1.9 Registered Agent. 

The registered agent is the President of the University. 

Section 1.10 Records. 

The University shall keep correct and complete records and books of accounts and shall keep minutes of the proceedings of the Board. Such records shall be open for inspection by Voting Trustees for any proper purpose at any reasonable time at the principal office of the University.