Running Head: PRIVATE OR PUBLIC

The University at Buffalo: Private or Public?

Tyler Bauer
University at Buffalo

The University at Buffalo: Private or Public?

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In order to fully understand a concept or institution, the history behind its creation is
significant. The understanding of the reason behind the creation of an idea or policy aids in the
effectiveness of its mission. In the United States of America, history is what is echoed throughout
most of education. It is seen through the recreation of plays and short stories of the American
Revolution taking place in the late eighteenth century. Although important for the creation of the
United States of America into what it is now today, the impacts the American Revolution had on
higher education institutions was significant. New policies and procedures that dominated the
lifestyle of the pre-revolutionary period were now lifted and new ones were created (Thelin,
2004). Many responsibilities of the English government had now been placed on the either the
federal and/or state governments or individuals themselves. The creation of new institutions
increased.
Whether the state funded the institution or the institution was funded primarily by
endowments and tuition has lead to one of the major differences between private and public
today. This difference between private and public was created by the Dartmouth College Case of
1817 which ruled that Dartmouth College was a corporation that was privately endowed and
therefore not under the states control (Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, 1819). The
effect that the Dartmouth College Case had on institutions right after it was announce is still up
for debate (Johnson 1983; Whitehead & Herbst 1986). 29 years later, the University at Buffalo
was founded in the city of Buffalo in New York. The charter of the University at Buffalo could
indicate that whether or not the university was founded as a private or public institution. In this
paper, first I will describe the history of 1800s and the beginnings of the University at Buffalo.
Second, I explain the University at Buffalos original charter. Third, I will explain the Dartmouth
College Case of 1819 and the implications on the University at Buffalo. Fourth, I will mention

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some events that took place after the creation of the University at Buffalo. Lastly, I will conclude
with the whether or not the university was a private or public institution.
History
The 1800s was an era of growing throughout the United States (Thelin, 2004). The
nation had just successfully won a revolution against one of the worlds strongest nations.
Although winning a war, the general public had a distrust of the national government. This
created a new system in creating an institution. Prior to the revolution, in order to become an
institution, the perspective institution had to send a charter to the governing body, in this case the
English government, for approval. Once the charter was approved, the government along with
private donors aided the institution financially. After the revolutionary war, the perspective
institutions had to apply for a charter to the state governments because of the distrust of the
federal governments. One of the major differences between the new charter systems is that the
state had no obligation to provide financial support to the new institution. The new system made
it easy for institutions to receive charters from the state because of the no financial backing that
the previous institutions had from before the revolutionary war (Thelin, 2004). Thus, institutions
were created in surplus and eventually decline in the 1860s (Thelin, 2004). A city that was
looking for a charter was the city of Buffalo during the 1840s but the history of Buffalo is
important for the creation of the charter.
Buffalo is right on the border of Lake Erie. This not only provides access to a waterfront
that helps ship materials and products to various locations but also serves as a resource.
Originally, the city of Buffalo was inhabited by Native Americans. It was not until the late 1700s
and early 1800s that the city of Buffalo started becoming colonized by the United States. This
colonization quickly came to abrupt end due to the War of 1812 that was fought between the

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United States and Britain. During the war, the British army burned the city of Buffalo to the
ground. Through the vigorous work of the citizens, the city of Buffalo was reconstructed and
served as central port for trade to the west coast. With the opening of the Erie Canal, Buffalo was
part of the water connection from the Atlantic Ocean to the West. This caused an economic boom
and a growth of the city of Buffalo. More people started fleeing to Buffalo for the chances of
economic prosperity. With the rise of the economic expansion not only in the city of Buffalo but
in the United States, the nation faced the Panic of 1837. The Panic of 1837 caused a major
recession that effected many business owners in the city of Buffalo. Over time, the economy
became more stable and the city of Buffalo began to flourish again. With the increase of
population and the trades, the city of Buffalo needed a university to further enhance the
reputation of becoming one of New York States top cities. In 1846, the University at Buffalo
was founded.
The history of the University at Buffalo is interesting. First off, the year that the
University was founded it was not originally named the University at Buffalo. The original name
was the University of Western New York when it first applied for a charter in 1836. Eventually in
1846, the university was founded as the University of Buffalo. In various introductions of the
university today, the history is stated that the University at Buffalo started as a private medical
school in the local church basement. It was not until the early 1960s that the University of
Buffalo became a public institution by becoming part of the State University of New York
(SUNY) system as the University at Buffalo. The journey for the University at Buffalo has
become part of its pride.
During the 1830s the city of Buffalo was in an economic boom. In 1836, a charter was
created to found the University of Western New York in the city of Buffalo. The school was

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created to form a professional school in the city of Buffalo. The formation of a professional
school was uncommon at that time period. Most schools created were vocational (Park, 1938).
Similar to the schools around the United States, the people that wanted to found the university in
the city of Buffalo were clergyman (Park, 1938; Thelin, 2004). The institution was supported by
various donors from the Buffalo area and beyond. The citizens of Buffalo felt that the creation of
a University in the Buffalo area was necessary and supported the plea for a charter (Park, 1938).
The institution eventually dissolved because of the Panic of 1837. The Panic of 1837 was a
considered a depression that affected the whole world (Rezneck, 1935). Out of all the cities in
the United States, the city of Buffalo was hurt most by the Panic of 1837 (Park, 1917). The
individual donors did not have the funds, nor wanted to support the institution when the world
was undertaking in an economic depression. Thus the institution was put on hold until the
depression started fading in the mid 1840s.
In the ten years in between 1836-1846, the recession caused many things to shift in the
Buffalo area (Park, 1938). Prior to the recession, the Buffalo area was booming and this caused
many Americans to flood to the Buffalo harbor looking for jobs. With overcrowding comes the
spreading of diseases and viruses. Since the influx of diseases and viruses increase, the city of
Buffalo needed more medical practitioners and doctors which increased jobs for that profession
(Park, 1917). When the Panic of 1837 ended in the mid 1840s, the doctors stayed in Buffalo and
started becoming more and more involved in the city. Not only did doctors flee to Buffalo, but
also immigrants (Gerber, 1984). The Panic of 1837 led to the creation of a public school system
to teach language and basic subjects to the immigrants. The public school system eventually
became a school for everyone to attend in the area (Gerber, 1984). The city of Buffalo was in a
period of transition.

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When the petition to have a charter in the city of Buffalo for a university began in 1846,
provisions were added. For example, the title of the institution would become the University of
Buffalo. Also, the University of Buffalo would have several departments such as a theological
(liberal arts) school, law school and a medical school. The addition of the medical school into the
charter was added due to the influx of doctors at the council meeting. Doctors were seen allying
themselves with citizens who had a general university at heart (p. 4) (Williams, 1858). The
doctors not only felt it was necessary to have a medical school but also to protect their own
profession by adding a medical school into the university (Park, 1938). As compared to the
people wanting to create the institution in the 1836, the majority of the people were secular. The
institution received support from many government officials; one major benefactor was Nathan
K. Hall. It was Halls influence as an assemblyman that added in the passing of the charter in the
New York State Assembly and Senate when the charter was sent in January 1846 (Legislative
History of the Founding of the University of Buffalo Minutes, 1846).
The charter was granted to the University of Buffalo to create a medical school. The
creation of the other schools did not receive much support in the New York State Assembly and
Senate. This caused discontent with the citizens that wanted to create a liberal college in the city
of Buffalo. Some of the major donors, who wanted the creation of a liberal school, were upset by
the creation of the university and expressed it by not giving money to fund the school. Typically,
when a charter is passed, a payment is owed to the government to start the school, due to the
discontent of the wealthy donors; the payment was delayed to the Treasurer (Park, 1938).

University at Buffalo Charter of 1846

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The University of Buffalo charter was passed on May 11, 1846 by a two-thirds vote in the
House of Representatives for New York State. As mentioned before the charter was created by
secular and clergy representatives in Buffalo. The document was sent to the New York State
Senate in early January of 1846 and was sent back to be revised by Hall (Legislative History of
the University of Buffalo Minutes, 1846).
The original charter of the University of Buffalo was split in 16 Sections. The first
section calls for the incorporation of the University of Buffalo by the people who are
stockholders of the institution. It also states that the institution will be created for the promoting
literature and science (pp. 1). The second section calls for the capital stock of the institution
which is reference in this second section as a corporation (pp.1). Among the 15 names that are
awarded stock, Milliard Fillmore and Nathan K. Hall are to be stockholders of the 5,000 shares
of the University. The council members, who are written about in section three, are not to have a
religious majority in the council. In Section 4 of the University of Buffalo charter, the mayor of
city of Buffalo is considered a part of the Council. The mayor is only part of the Council because
of the powers of the mayor. If a new mayor is elected, the old mayor will not be considered part
of the Council and the new mayor will be part of the Council. With the Council chosen, the
Council has the power to establish the ordinances and the bylaws of the institution. The Council
also has the power to appoint officers and faculty.
In sections 8-12 in the University of Buffalos charter, the departments and degree
granting processes are mentioned. Section 9 calls for the creation of a medical department at the
University while other departments were mentioned in section 10. Donations or other charitable
contributions may be given but only for the benefit of the academical, theological, medical or
law department (pp. 3) or for the creation of a library. This is the only time that departments

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other than the medical department are mentioned. However, the charter does give the Council
power to organize and create several different departments.
The last two sections of the University of Buffalo charter states that the legislature has the
right to repeal the charter at any time. The charter would also be repealed or dissolved if the
University did not have 1,000 of its stock sold by the time of 3 years. This could be one of the
reasons that the 1836 charter that was created was ultimately dissolved. The charter was passed
but the amount of funds that it did not raise caused the ultimate collapse of the creating of the
charter. The act would take effect immediately. Throughout the document, the institution was
referenced as a University or a corporation several times. Interestingly enough, the University of
Buffalo did not say that women were not allowed to enter the University (Potter, 1898).
Dartmouth College Case
The case of 1819 with Dartmouth College v. Woodward was a famous case that changed
the outlook of institutions as well as private corporations and rights (Johnson, 1983). Dartmouth
College was founded pre- Revolutionary war in 1769. The charter was sent to the English
government and had been approved. As mentioned before, after the Revolutionary War, the role
of the granting of charters was given to the states (Thelin, 2004). Starting in the early 1800s
political tensions arose in the state of New Hampshire which led to various aggressive attempts
to take control of the college from the Wheelock family. With the state officials breaching the
contract of the charter, the Dartmouth officials brought the case to the Supreme Court where
Chief Justice John Marshall ruled in the favor of Dartmouth. The ruling stated that due to the
institution receiving charitable contributions such as donations, the institution was not a state
corporation. Since the institution was under a private corporation, the charter was therefore under
no jurisdiction of the state under the Constitution (Johnson, 1983).

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The emergence of private and public institutions in the United States was apparent in the
United States after the Civil War (Whitehead & Herbst, 1986). This would have people believe
that no other institutions were impacted by the Dartmouth College Case of 1819 before the Civil
War and therefore did not divulge into the public and private sectors. The changes that were
taking place in New Hampshire at the time of the case leads to a different conclusion. Public
leaders such as William Plumer argued for the creation of a Dartmouth University in 1816 that
would have several schools underneath it such as theology, medicine and law. The broadening
and changing of the curriculm caused the trustees of Dartmouth to challenge the state which lead
to the case (Johnson, 1983).
The distinction between private and public was hard to decipher in the years before and
after the ruling of the Dartmouth College Case. The English government had a major influence
on the American Universities. In English law, the university was considered a public corporation
whereas a college was perceived as a private corporation (Johnson, 1983). Thus, the creation of a
university makes it possible that it is a public corporation although several claims have been
made that the distinction between college and university was not distinct in the early 1800s as
well (Johnson, 1983). The state of New Hampshire after the Dartmouth College Case wanted to
create a public University for the state of New Hampshire. In 1819, Daniel Webster proposed the
creation of the University of New Hampshire and was quickly denied. Webster continued to
press on and called for the creation of a New Hampshire University in 1827. The charter passed
in the senate but eventually lost in the house (Johnson, 1983). It is possible that the proposal of
such university in 1827 had an influence on other states in America.
Implications on the University at Buffalo

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With the popularity of the Dartmouth College Case in America, it is not unbelievable to
say that most of America had heard about the proposal. The Dartmouth College Case helped
protect the rights of private corporations. In the early 1800s the Buffalo region was creating
private companies that boomed during the era. Most of the people that called for the creation of
the University of Buffalo were business pioneers that acquired most of their money through
private corporations (Park, 1917). This can have implications on the creation of the University of
Buffalos charter.
When it comes to distinguishing whether or not the University of Buffalo was created as
a predominately public or private institution, it is important to look to Dartmouth College. In
1819 the Supreme Court ruled the college private, so in that case, it might be said that Dartmouth
was the first private college. The charter of Dartmouth College is different from what the charter
of the University of Buffalo looks like. The content of the charter goes on to focus primarily on
religion, which was common for that time that the charter was created (Thelin, 2004). The
creation of Dartmouth was for the education and instruction of youth of the Indian tribes in this
land in reading, writing, and all parts of learning which shall appear necessary and expedient for
civilizing and christianizing children of pagans, as well as in all liberal arts and sciences, and
also of English youth and any others. (p. 3) (The Charter of Dartmouth College, 1754). A
speculation for favoring of the Supreme Court case with Dartmouth is that the charter
specifically mentions the religious duty the college has on the students. If the Supreme Court
sided with the state in the Dartmouth College case, it would be unconstitutional. The constitution
states that the government is separate from the Church. By declaring Dartmouth College as a
private corporation, the Supreme Court kept the separation of Church and State. In the University
of Buffalo charter, specifically there is not mention of religion, which could have been influence

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by many things. As mentioned before, the people wanted to create the University were more
secular in 1846 as compared to 1836 (Park 1938). The Dartmouth College Case could have made
an impact on the further creation of the charters.
At around the same time of the University of Buffalo charter was accepted, a charter was
accepted on April 10, 1846 in the state of New York. Fordham University was founded in 1846
as well. If comparing the charter of Fordham University and the University of Buffalo, both look
similar (Fordham University Charter, 1846). Two differences are noted between the University of
Buffalo and Fordham Universitys charters. One, the University of Buffalo has separate sections
for the creation of a medical school. The second difference is that the University of Buffalo calls
for the mayor and officials of the county of Erie to be part of the Council. The differences
between the Dartmouth charter and Fordham charter to the University of Buffalo charter is an
indication between private and public. In the charter of the University of Buffalo, it calls for the
involvement of state officials. The inclusion of various state officials indicates that the University
of Buffalo had a slight indication of a public institution.
After the Approval of the Charter
The creation of a charter indicates that a university has been created inside a state, but the
distinction between what is written on a charter and what happens actually are two separate
entities. Immediately following the approval of the charter by the New York State, the trustees
worked hard to start the University. The direction of which the University started is an indicator
of whether it was a public or private institution.
The University of Buffalo was a medical school that started in the basement of a local
church. By August 25, 1846, the Faculty of Medicine was hired. The majority of the faculty had
previously been appointed at Geneva Medical College (Park, 1917). Even in its infancy, the

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University of Buffalo had a program that had several prestigious faculty members within the
ranks, perhaps, the popularity of Millard Fillmore as a Chancellor aided in this attraction to
several doctors. The facilities in Buffalo were not impressive with a small budget in the starting
of the medical program in Buffalo (Park, 1938). Eventually in 1852, the University of Buffalo
proposed a bill to the New York State Assembly in a request for money to the medical school.
The bill was voted down by the Assembly (New York Legislature, 1852).
Many faculty were known doctors by the public. In the beginning of October 1846, the
faculty came together to provide a curriculum for the students. The curriculum included anatomy,
surgery, chemistry, and pharmacy which were to be taught to the students via lectures. Of the
meeting minutes from that day, the intention was to educate a medical student and not a student
as whole. The notion of a liberal education was never mentioned (Record of the Proceedings of
the Medical Faculty of the University at Buffalo, 1846). Although a curriculum is in place, it is
safe to assume that not much academic work was done by students in the 1846-1847 class (Park,
1938). But the involvement of the faculty to create a prestigious program shows that the faculty
had a passion for the university. In comparison between private and public institutions, faculty
members have a higher level of learning organization and commit to the school when the
institution is a private rather than a public institution, which commonly is believed as the
opposite from what we know today (Balay, 2012).
In the 1850s, the University of Buffalo looked to create another department under the
University. In January 1853, the University of Buffalo proposed a bill for a grant to become an
agricultural college. The majority of people found it unfavorable to have a college that was
founded under the agricultural claims such as the majority of colleges in the South (Article 4,
1853). The creation of an agricultural college in New York was eventually created using the

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Morrill Land Grant Act of 1860 with the founding of Cornell University located near Syracuse
(Thelin, 2004).
Discussion of Private or Public
The University of Buffalo and the city of Buffalo has a history that sheds light into the
conversations of whether or not a school can be considered private or public. At the time when
the charter was created the world was recovering from a global depression with its focus on
educating medical students (Park, 1938). The intention was to create a liberal arts school in the
city of Buffalo that also had a professional school component of the charter. The influence of the
medical doctors caused the school to become a predominately medical school (Park, 1917). Thus
the intention of the school was to be a public school that was created for the city of Buffalo. Over
the history of Buffalo after its creation, it looked as if it had started becoming a private institution
that was created. Although my speculation is purely an assumption, the charter had components
of both a public and private institution.
One of the major issues to prove that the University of Buffalo had started as a public
institution is in the terminology that was within the document. In the Dartmouth, Fordham and
University of Buffalo charters, the main text says that the charter is an act to create a university.
The word incorporate has had a legal meaning, as it is known, is to form a legal corporation.
While this is accurate, another meaning of the word incorporate is that to embody something as
one in a whole. In a sense, the charters were a call to embody a university as a center for
learning. Both locations of Dartmouth, Fordham and the city of Buffalo needed universities to
help enhance the town and people that lived in it. Thus, schools could have been created for a
public interest rather than a private interest. Since the creation of Dartmouths charter was in the

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mid eighteenth century, the University of Buffalos charter and Fordhams charter are more
similar due to both being passed in 1846.
One interesting fact between the charters of the University of Buffalos charter to
Fordhams charter was that the University of Buffalos charter had the same content of
Fordhams charter in the document. Some of the differences were that Buffalo added several
provisions to add a medical school. The creation of the medical school was the primary focus
with a separate section addressing the other departments. The content of what the colleges were
to be learning is a major difference between all of the charters. By looking at the charters,
Fordham had more flexibility to do as it pleased academically rather than the University of
Buffalo. The University of Buffalo was created to form a large university; this can be speculated
by reviewing the charter that was created in 1846 and the economic history of Buffalo at that
time.
The Dartmouth College Case was due to the state infringing on the college to create a
university. After several attempts, the state tried to impose members onto the colleges council.
The Supreme Court than backed up the claims of the college by saying the school was a private
college. The University of Buffalo charter states that assemblyman from the state of New York
were to be ex officio members of the Council. This would imply that the charter called to be
public. Whether or not the decision was made at all colleges after the Dartmouth College Case is
a fair assumption but would be incorrect. By looking at the charter of Fordham University, the
charter calls for the inclusion of a council but none from the state. The possibility of choosing
statesmen as members of the Council is a possibility. The University of Buffalo was closer to
being a public institution at its founding in 1846 as compared to Fordham University.
Conclusion

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The journey of the University at Buffalo has been a historic and long one. To this day, the
University at Buffalo is proud to show its history. In a video shown at orientation, a student states
that the University at Buffalo started as a private medical school located in downtown Buffalo. In
the early twentieth century, the College of Arts and Sciences was created to help the school turn
into a respectable university. It was not until the mid-1960s that the University of Buffalo
became the University at Buffalo through the transition of being a public institution in the SUNY
system. But, the focus of the University of Buffalo back in 1846 was focused on the city which
has led me to the belief that the creation of the institution was more so a public institution than a
private institution. The creation of the medical school, which took over the university for
decades, postponed the creation of a liberal education. One thing is for certain now; the
University at Buffalo is dedicated to serving the students that attend the school and the city of
Buffalo together.

References

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*Article 4. (1853). New York Daily Times (1851-1857) Retrieved from

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*Flint, A. (Dean of the Medical School) (1849). Dr. Austin Flints Account of the Founding of
the University of Buffalo on November 7, 1849. Lecture conducted from University of
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*Fordham University Charter. (1846). Retrieved
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_statutes/article_1_25486.asp
Gerber, D. (1984). Language Maintenance, Ethnic Group Formation, and Public Schools:
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* NEW-YORK LEGISLATURE. (1852). New York Daily Times (1851-1857) Retrieved from
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Park, J. (1917). A History of the University of Buffalo, 1846-1917. Nabu Press.
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Potter W. (1898). A Century of Medical History in the County of Erie - 1800-1900. Buffalo
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Rezneck, S. (1935). The Social History of an American Depression, 1837-1843. The American
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*Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward, No. 17 U.S. 518 (1819).
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_statutes/article_1_25486.asp
Thelin, J. R. (2004). A history of American higher education (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: John
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Whitehead, J. S., & Herbst, J. (1986). How to think about the Dartmouth College case. History
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Williams, H. (1858). Facts relating to the Founding of the University of Buffalo by Dr. Herbert.
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*University of Buffalo Charter and Bylaws from 1846-1953 (typescripts and printed), 19431953, 1.1, 15/2/119, Julian Park Papers, 1834-1965, University Archives, The State
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