This collection contains the financial records of Salisbury University during its first several decades of existence as the Maryland State Normal School and State Teachers College. The documents consist of ledger books with finance information dating from the mid-1920s to the late 1970s, with loose memorandums and calculations inside some of the books. The earlier items in the collection contain handwritten correspondence from William J. Holloway, the first principal of the school. Records include student payments to the school, disbursements from the school various Salisbury and national businesses, student refunds, cash payments, receipts, financial aid payments, payroll records, itemized supply and book purchases, and receipts. Records from the tenure of William J. Holloway contain reference to audits of the school by the state, and some refunds not received by students in correspondence and memorandums left inside the ledgers.

In 1922, the Maryland Legislature established a commission to determine a location for a two-year college to train elementary teachers on the state’s Eastern Shore. A site in Salisbury was selected and the Maryland State Normal School at Salisbury opened in September 1925.

 The school’s two-year course of study was increased to three years in 1931 and to four years in 1934. In 1935, the Legislature authorized the college to grant Bachelor of Science degrees. The school was first accredited by the American Association of Teachers Colleges (later the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education) in 1942 and by the Middle States Association in 1956.

The school’s name has changed several times over the course of its history: Maryland State Normal School (1925-1935), Maryland State Teachers College (1935-1963), Salisbury State College (1963-1988), Salisbury State University (1988-2001), and Salisbury University (2001-present).

The student ledgers are inclusive of academic years from the 1925-1926 to 1933 school years, and three of the items contain student tuition, room, and fee payment information from 1947-1953, 1966-1976, and 1970-1979. Disbursements and payments records include the years from 1927-1946, although each account book is may not be comprehensive and most have substantial portions of blank pages. The 1920s through 1940s records contain specific student names, while later tuition payment records from the 1960s and 1970s are by account number. The 1970s ledger includes print-outs of student financial aid on dot-matrix paper with names and financial aid amounts, along with funds advanced to students by the university.

Series are arranged in chronological order by the main subject of documents: Series 1 consists of all student ledger books in the collection, Series 2 consists of payments and disbursements made by the college to staff, faculty, and various businesses for supplies as well as financial aid payments in later years. Series 3 consists of receipts, inventory information, cafeteria receipts, and one ledger with bank deposits and payments to a memorial fund.