# Question about corporate charters
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-corporate-charters/538559
**Category:** Factual Questions
**Created:** [May 6, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-corporate-charters/538559 "2010-05-06T21:38:53Z")
**Posts on this page:** 3
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2010, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-corporate-charters/538559/1 "2010-05-06T21:38:53Z")
New York
1902
An organization was granted a charter for academic purposes by the Regents of the University of the State of New York. Would this be a charter for a non-profit corporation or something else? Is it usual at that time for the Regents to give out charters? Who would have the info on this organization today? The Regents or the Dept of Corporations?
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### Author:  [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-corporate-charters/538559/2 "2010-05-06T21:47:47Z")
USNY is responsible for overseeing nearly all education-related activities in New York, including accrediting public schools, chartering public and private colleges and universities, museums, libraries, historical societies, and a bunch of other stuff.
So the charter, if it’s still active, should be on file with them. Other resources one might check are the [New York Archives](http://www.archives.nysed.gov/aindex.shtml), part of NYS Ed which is part of…oh yeah, USNY.
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### Author:  [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)
#### Post date: [May 6, 2010, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-about-corporate-charters/538559/3 "2010-05-06T23:45:22Z")
Note that USNY, a “paper” university, is not the same thing as SUNY, the State University of New York, which is the integration of all university centers, colleges, county-run community colleges, etc., operated by the state and its political subdivisions other than New York City. USNY’s functions are more in chartering and setting professional standards. Offices are somewhere in the State Education Dept. complex in Albany.