These materials consist primarily of letters (1836-1985) by and to Board members. The correspondence concern the erection of new buildings, reports of committees, land transactions between the College and the town of South Hadley, faculty reappointments, College by-laws, and reforms to campus social regulations. Correspondents include Andrew W. Porter, A. Lyman Williston, Joseph A. Skinner, Emily Jessup, Julia M. Tolman, and John M. Greene. Reports include documents issued by the Library and Education Committee (1870-1873) regarding Mount Holyoke's first library building, the Executive Committee (1876) concerning building maintenance, and Mary E. Tuttle as the Senior Alumnae Trustee (1964), chiefly discussing changes to the religious program at the College. The proposal from February 1, 1842 describes Mount Holyoke's gift of $2400 to the first parish of South Hadley for the erection of a meeting house. The petition of February 17, 1864 to the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts requests an appropriation of $25,000 to support the work of the school. A sheet of statistics from July, 1867 concerns the mortality rates of Mount Holyoke graduates and those of Amherst College, Andover Theological Seminary, , Bowdoin College, Dartmouth College, Williams College, and Yale College. Receipts (1868, 1869, 1873) are for the payments of tuition, a donation to Mount Holyoke, and bonds and certificates purchased by Mount Holyoke. The tribute honors Edmund H. Sawyer, a member of the Board from 1873 until his death in 1879. The audio cassette from about 1974 is of College President David Bicknell Truman discussing student membership on the Board of Trustees.

Minutes document Trustees discussions and decisions at regular meetings of the Board. Records often include agenda and excerpts of reports by Trustees committees, faculty committees, and College administrators. Topics frequently discussed at meetings include tuition rates, endowment funds, gifts to the College, admissions policies, financial aid policies, academic requirements, honorary degree recipients, salaries for faculty and staff, and improvements to campus facilities. A card index to minutes for 1913-1980 is part of this series. Minutes from 1998-2003 are available in other series in the collection, including Meeting Files (Series 4) and Chronological Files (Series 6).

By-laws outline the duties and responsibilities of all of the units and officers of the College, including the President and the faculty. They also concern the duties and composition of the Board of Trustees. Records consist of published copies of the by-laws as well as correspondence concerning proposed revisions.

Meeting files document the planning and implementation of each meeting of the Board, including retreats and conference calls. These records consist of minutes and agenda, reports, correspondence, surveys, proposals, and lists of attendees. Meeting files include copies of records of Trustees committees and the Trustee Fellows concerning campus renovations, faculty salaries, admissions statistics, annual budgets, and College expenditures. There are also reports on grants received by Mount Holyoke, individuals nominated for honorary degrees, and technological improvements at the College and documents concerning the Alumnae Association's reassessment of its goals and strategies in 1990. The files include from 1998-2003 containing agendas and minutes from Board of Trustee committee meetings.

Workbooks prepared by the Secretary of the College for use by the Trustees at each meeting contain the minutes and agenda, meeting schedules, copies of reading material associated with each meeting as well announcements of deaths of individuals associated with the College. The workbooks include reports of Committees of the Board of Trustees and letters from alumnae concerning issues for the Board to address.

Chronological Files compiled by the Secretary of the Board or the Senior Administrative Assistant to the President contain reports, correspondence, plans, lists, publications, biographical information, and a photograph album. Topics discussed in these materials include the Plans for 2003 and 2010; the Campaign for Mount Holyoke and other financial matters; changes in the relationship between the College and the Alumnae Association; development of the Harriet and Paul Weissman Center for Leadership; the College's decision to no longer require applicants for admission to submit Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores; improvements to campus facilities; honorary degree recipients; and Commencement ceremonies. The files include copies of a self-study of the Five College Consortium (1998), annual statements of the administrative goals of Mount Holyoke President Joanne V. Creighton, and three publications concerning trends and issues in higher education: by Daniel J. Levin of the Association of Governing Boards (2002), prepared by the Association of American Colleges and Universities (2002(), and by Verne O. Sedlacek and Sarah E. Clark of the Commonfund Institute (2003). In addition, there are minutes, summaries, notes, and evaluations for meetings, retreats, and conference calls of the Board; biographical sketches of Trustees and candidates for the Board; and photographs of Mount Holyoke trustees and administrators on a in August 2000.

Subject Files contain reports, correspondence, memoranda, policy statements and guidelines, articles, publications, lists, financial information, and several photographs. Of particular note are documents relating to Richard Glenn Gettell's decision to resign as President of the College (1967), a through review of the coeducation issue on the part of administrators, faculty, and students (1968-1972), and Mount Holyoke's support of a summer threatre at the College (1971-1983). Some materials reflect activities of the Trustees, such as their regular visits to academic departments at the College (1956-1990), a retreat in 1979 to review retirement policies for Mount Holyoke faculty, and a trip to Washington, D.C. in 1987 (with a photograph of some of the participants in that group). Other files concern aspects of student life, including cooperative housing, the use of alcoholic beverages, and policies regarding privacy and religious practices. In addition, these files contain materials about the Mount Holyoke College Day Care Center, efforts to recruit minority students, and the construction of or improvements to a number of buildings on campus, including the Sports Complex, Willits-Hallowell Center, and Williston Library. There is also a copy of a study of prepared by the Opinion Research Corporation (1978).

Correspondence consists of letters by and to Trustees or the Secretary of the College. Topics discussed in these letters include arrangements for meetings of the Board; grants, investments, and other financial affairs of the College; President Elizabeth T. Kennan's proposed sabbatical in 1992-1993; and possible candidates for Mount Holyoke honorary degrees. There is also a copy of a speech about The Future of Women's Colleges which Anita Pampusch, President of the College of St. Catherine, presented at Mount Holyoke in October 1989.

These files primarily contain letters by and to Trustees. These documents discuss arrangements for Board meetings and issues and events affecting the College. There is also information about each person's support of Mount Holyoke, including their donations to the school. In addition, many files contain resumes, press releases, articles, and biographical sketches about these individuals and the file for Floyd Hall includes a photograph of him.

In 1989, the United States Department of Justice Antitrust Division launched an investigation of the practices of a number of educational institutions in setting their fees for tuition room and board, salaries, and financial aid. About sixty colleges and universities (including Mount Holyoke) were involved in the investigation and asked to produce documents and answer questions relating to setting budgets, fees, faculty salaries, and financial aid awards. The materials in this series were collected to comply with this request. These documents include letters from the College's administrators or attorney to Trustees discussing aspects of the case; a prepared for the attorneys by the Office of the President containing copies of documents distributed and discussed for Board meetings in 1988; correspondence and notes from meetings of the Trustee Advisory Committee on Resources and Priorities in 1987 which chiefly concern faculty salaries; and articles and notes about the investigation. There are also copies of minutes and agenda for meetings of the Mount Holyoke Joint Conference Committee (1984-1989) and Board of Trustees (November 1967-May 1989). Documents in these records which relate to the investigation are marked with notes.

The Trustee Fellows (all former Trustees of the College) were established by the Board of Trustees on the recommendation of the President in March 1988 to provide advice about the governance of the College. The records consist of agenda, minutes , correspondence, notes, and articles for annual meetings of the Fellows (1988-1991, 1993) Topics discussed at these meetings include admissions policies, fund raising campaigns, and strategic planning and governance issues.

Every three years since 1970, the Board of Trustees elects an alumna from one of the three most recent graduating classes to serve a three-year term on the Board of Trustees. Candidates for Young Alumnae Trustee are nominated by their classmates in an election that takes place during their senior year. The names of the top two candidates from each class are forwarded to the Secretary of the Board of Trustees, who keeps a file of nominees until the year of election. These records consist of correspondence and biographical information related to Young Alumnae Trustee candidates, descriptions of and guidelines for the position, and lists of these individuals.