Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois represented in the General Assembly, That Charles S. Dorsey, Daniel White, John Lindley, William H. Kilborn, William Holland, Romulus Barnes, R. T. Goodwin, T. D. Hungerford, Thomas Vater, Abraham W. Vanmeter, Benjamin Mitchell, J. H. Yager, and their associates be, and they are hereby created a body politic and corporate, to be styled and known by the name of the “Trustees of the Washington Academy,” and by that style and name to remain and have perpetual succession. The said academy shall be and remain at or near the town of Washington, in the county of Tazewell, and state of Illinois. The number of trustees shall not exceed twelve, one of whom shall be president of the board, to be chosen by the trustees. For the present, the above named persons shall constitute the board of trustees, who shall fill the remaining vacancies at their pleasure.

Sec. 2. The objects of said corporation shall be the diffusion of knowledge and the promotion of the general interests of education.

Sec. 3. The corporate powers hereby bestowed shall be such only as are essential or useful in the attainment of said object, and such as are usually bestowed on similar bodies corporate, to wit: To have perpetual succession, to make contracts, to sue and be sued, to plead and be impleaded, to grant and receive by its corporate name, and to do all other acts as natural persons may; to accept, acquire, purchase or sell property, real, personal or mixed, in all lawful ways; to use, employ, manage and dispose of, all such property, and all money belonging to said corporation, in such manner as shall seem to the trustees best adapted to promote the objects aforesaid; to have a common seal, and to alter and change the same; to make such by-laws for its regulations as are not inconsistent with the

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constitution and laws of the United States and of this state, and to confer on such persons as may be thought worthy, such academical or honorary degrees, as are usually conferred in similar institutions.

Sec. 4. The trustees of said corporation shall have power and authority from time to time, to prescribe and regulate the course of studies to be pursued in said academy; to fix the rate of tuition and other academical expenses; to appoint instructors, and such other officers and agents, as may be necessary in managing the concerns of the institution; to fix their compensation; to displace or remove them; to erect necessary buildings; to purchase books, chemical and philosophical apparatus, and other suitable means of instruction; to make rules for the general government of the institution, and for the regulation of the conduct of the students.

Sec. 5. The trustees for the time being, in order to have perpetual succession, shall have power to fill any vacancy which may occur in the board from death, removal, resignation, or any other cause. A majority of the trustees for the time being shall be a quorum to do business.

Sec. 6. It shall be the duty of the trustees to appoint one of their number treasurer of the board, who shall be required to give bond with sufficient security, in such penal sums as the board may require and prescribe, conditioned for the performance of such duties as the by-laws may require of him.

Sec. 7. Said institution shall be open to all denominations of christians, and the profession of any particular religious faith shall not be required of those who become students. All persons, however, may be suspended or expelled from said institution by the trustees thereof, whose habits are idle or vicious, or whose moral character is bad.

Sec. 8. The land, tenements, and hereditaments, to be held in perpetuity by virtue of this act, by said corporation, shall not exceed six hundred and forty acres: Provided however, That if any donation, grants, or devises in land, shall from time to time be made to said corporation, over and above the six hundred and forty acres, which may be held in perpetuity as aforesaid, the same may be received by said corporation for the period of five years from the date of any such donation, grant, or devises, at the end of which time, if the said land shall not have been sold by the said corporation, then and in that case the said lands so donated, granted or devised, shall revert to the donor, grantor, or heirs of the devisor of the same.

Approved March 4, 1837.