Oregon Agricultural College faculty, staff and students gather for a college community meeting on the lawn in front of Benton Hall, 1916. In addition to prominent faculty members such as OAC President William Jasper Kerr, Dean of Home Economics Ava Milam, and Dean of Forestry George Peavy, this photograph included many of the support staff essential to the departmental and administrative offices of the college. [OSU Archives P46:46.]

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For more information about how to contact the OSU Archives, please visit our Location, Hours, & Staff Information page.

Chapter 1 Responsibilities of the University Records Management Officers

An effective records management program requires the cooperation of all university offices and departments. Each unit is mandated to appoint or designate a records management officer (RMO) who will be the liaison with the Oregon State University Archives and Records Management Program. It is recommended that the RMO's responsibilities be incorporated into his/her position description.

The unit RMO is charged with the following responsibilities:

• Care for and supervise the arrangement of departmental records.
• Organize department records flow.
• Provide the department with up-to-date information regarding retention and disposition of records.
• Maintain control over confidential records, including their access, storage, and destruction.
• Organize and supervise the periodic weeding of departmental files.
• Assist University Archives staff in setting retention periods for unscheduled records.
• Serve as the liaison with the University Archives for all transactions pertaining to the department's records.
• Provide reasonable access to the department's non-confidential records.
• Identify and oversee the transfer of permanent records to the University Archives.
• Provide for the orderly storage of inactive and temporary records in adequate storage areas.
• Work with office/department faculty and staff to ensure proper management of electronic records, particularly e-mail.
• Work with the staff of the University Archives in the proper disposition of records when programs and departments are eliminated, transferred, or combined.
• Work with University Archives and departmental staff in determining the best filing systems and equipment for the office.

The University Archives maintains an e-mail list to distribute records information to departmental RMOs and to foster discussion about records related matters. To subscribe to the RMO list, please contact the University Archives at Archives@oregonstate.edu or 7-2165.

Note to Records Management Officers: If you are either an RMO who will be giving up this responsibility or a new RMO, please contact the Archives staff.

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