Series consists of materials pertaining to the standing committees of the Douglas College Board and its predecessor, the Douglas College Council. Committees of the Board exist to provide greater investigation and recommendations related to governance issues and functions for which the Board is responsible such as finance, human resources, facilities, curricular planning, and development.
During the institution’s early years, several committees existed within the College Council to oversee key functions like those mentioned above; however, it was not until February 1975 that four were formally recognized by Council as standing committees: the Finance Committee, Program Development Committee, Building and Sites Development Committee, and Personnel Committee. These were later joined by a committee which focused on community relations and public promotion of the College.
Following the College's split into Douglas and Kwantlen in 1981, and a subsequent administrative reorganization which resulted in a smaller membership, the College Board determined it could no longer operate with the same number of standing committees. The Board's chairman and vice-chairman were tasked with developing a proposal for a new board committee structure. Ultimately, they proposed two committees: the Finance, Facilities and Personnel Committee and the Education and Services Committee. The former was an amalgam of three existing standing committees while the latter was a successor to the Program Development Committee. The Community Relations Committee was not replaced by an equivalent body until the creation of the Community Relations Development Committee in 1984.
Although there were several changes to names and responsibilities, most committees of the Board reflected the original functions of their earlier iterations throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In the early 2000s, the Education Committee and the Community Relations/Board Development Committee were disbanded, as their roles had been increasingly co-opted by other committees. And more recently, a Technology Strategy Committee existed for seven years (2014-2021) before also being disbanded.
The records in this series primarily consist of meeting agendas, minutes, and supporting documents such as correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial statements, and planning materials.
