The foundation
was founded in New York on May
14, 1913 by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by Standard Oil owner John D. Rockefeller (“Senior”), along with
his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
(“Junior”), and Senior’s principal oil and gas business and
philanthropic advisor, Frederick Taylor Gates. The Rockefeller Foundation is a philanthropic
organization and private foundation with her headquarters in New
York City, United States. Its central mission over the past 100 years has been
“to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world.”
was founded in New York on May
14, 1913 by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by Standard Oil owner John D. Rockefeller (“Senior”), along with
his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr.
(“Junior”), and Senior’s principal oil and gas business and
philanthropic advisor, Frederick Taylor Gates. The Rockefeller Foundation is a philanthropic
organization and private foundation with her headquarters in New
York City, United States. Its central mission over the past 100 years has been
“to promote the well-being of humanity throughout the world.”
Some of its objectives and achievements include:
·
Financially supported education
in the United States “without distinction of race, sex or creed”
Financially supported education
in the United States “without distinction of race, sex or creed”
·
Helped establish the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the
United Kingdom;
Helped establish the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the
United Kingdom;
·
Established the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Harvard School of Public Health, two of
the first such institutions in the United States;
Established the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Harvard School of Public Health, two of
the first such institutions in the United States;
·
Established the School of Hygiene at the
University of Toronto in 1927;
Established the School of Hygiene at the
University of Toronto in 1927;
·
Developed the vaccine to prevent yellow fever;
Developed the vaccine to prevent yellow fever;
·
Helped The New School provide
a haven for scholars threatened by the Nazis.
Helped The New School provide
a haven for scholars threatened by the Nazis.
The Rockefeller Foundation program stated that
there was a crucial correlation between the world of science, politics and
international health policy. The program exemplified the time period’s confidence
in science as the solution for everything. This reliance on science was known
as scientific neutrality. In Mexico in the 1920s, the Rockefeller Foundation
started a program to eradicate hookworm. This heavy reliance of scientific
neutrality contradicted the hookworm program’s fundamental objective to invest
in public health in order to develop better social conditions and to establish
positive ties between the United States and Mexico.
there was a crucial correlation between the world of science, politics and
international health policy. The program exemplified the time period’s confidence
in science as the solution for everything. This reliance on science was known
as scientific neutrality. In Mexico in the 1920s, the Rockefeller Foundation
started a program to eradicate hookworm. This heavy reliance of scientific
neutrality contradicted the hookworm program’s fundamental objective to invest
in public health in order to develop better social conditions and to establish
positive ties between the United States and Mexico.
The Hookworm Campaign set the terms of the
relationship between Mexico and the Rockefeller Foundation that persisted
through subsequent programs including the development of a network of local
public health departments. The importance of the hookworm campaign was to get a
foot in the door and swiftly convince rural people of the value of public
health work. The roles of the RF’s hookworm campaign are characteristic of the
policy paradoxes that emerge when science is summoned to drive policy. The
campaign in Mexico served as a policy cauldron through which new knowledge could
be demonstrated applicable to social and political problems on many levels.
relationship between Mexico and the Rockefeller Foundation that persisted
through subsequent programs including the development of a network of local
public health departments. The importance of the hookworm campaign was to get a
foot in the door and swiftly convince rural people of the value of public
health work. The roles of the RF’s hookworm campaign are characteristic of the
policy paradoxes that emerge when science is summoned to drive policy. The
campaign in Mexico served as a policy cauldron through which new knowledge could
be demonstrated applicable to social and political problems on many levels.
Other funding went into endocrinology
departments in American universities, human heredity, mammalian biology, human
physiology and anatomy, psychology, and the
pioneering studies of human sexual behaviour. Another significant program was
its Medical Sciences Division, which extensively funded women’s contraception
and the human reproductive system in general. Another program, the Emergency Rescue Committee was also
partly funded with Rockefeller money; this effort resulted in the rescue of
some of the most famous artists, writers and composers of Europe. A major
program beginning in the 1930s was the relocation of German (Jewish) scholars
from German universities to America. This was expanded to other European
countries; when war broke out it became a full-scale rescue operation.
departments in American universities, human heredity, mammalian biology, human
physiology and anatomy, psychology, and the
pioneering studies of human sexual behaviour. Another significant program was
its Medical Sciences Division, which extensively funded women’s contraception
and the human reproductive system in general. Another program, the Emergency Rescue Committee was also
partly funded with Rockefeller money; this effort resulted in the rescue of
some of the most famous artists, writers and composers of Europe. A major
program beginning in the 1930s was the relocation of German (Jewish) scholars
from German universities to America. This was expanded to other European
countries; when war broke out it became a full-scale rescue operation.
Foundation mounted a major program of virus
research, establishing field laboratories in Poona, India; Port of Spain, Trinidad; Belém, Brazil;
Johannesburg, South
Africa; Cairo, Egypt; Ibadan,
Nigeria; and Cali,
Colombia in 1950. In time, major funding was also contributed by the countries
involved, while in Trinidad the British government and neighbouring
British-controlled territories also assisted. Sub-professional staff were
almost all recruited locally and, wherever possible, local people were given
scholarships and other support to be professionally trained. In most cases,
locals eventually took over management of the facilities. Support was also
given to research on viruses in many other countries. The result of all this
research was the identification of a huge number of viruses affecting humans,
the development of new techniques for the rapid identification of viruses, and
a quantum leap in our understanding of arthropod-borne
viruses.
research, establishing field laboratories in Poona, India; Port of Spain, Trinidad; Belém, Brazil;
Johannesburg, South
Africa; Cairo, Egypt; Ibadan,
Nigeria; and Cali,
Colombia in 1950. In time, major funding was also contributed by the countries
involved, while in Trinidad the British government and neighbouring
British-controlled territories also assisted. Sub-professional staff were
almost all recruited locally and, wherever possible, local people were given
scholarships and other support to be professionally trained. In most cases,
locals eventually took over management of the facilities. Support was also
given to research on viruses in many other countries. The result of all this
research was the identification of a huge number of viruses affecting humans,
the development of new techniques for the rapid identification of viruses, and
a quantum leap in our understanding of arthropod-borne
viruses.
The foundation in arts it has helped establish or
support the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada,
and the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut; Arena Stage in
Washington, D.C.; Karamu House in Cleveland, Ohio; and Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts in New
York. In a recent shift in program emphasis, President Rodin eliminated the
division that spent money on the arts, the creativity and culture program. All over
the world the foundation fellowships and scholarships for advanced study in
major scientific disciplines have given thousands of scientists and scholars
scholarships in their field of endeavours.
support the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada,
and the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut; Arena Stage in
Washington, D.C.; Karamu House in Cleveland, Ohio; and Lincoln Centre for the Performing Arts in New
York. In a recent shift in program emphasis, President Rodin eliminated the
division that spent money on the arts, the creativity and culture program. All over
the world the foundation fellowships and scholarships for advanced study in
major scientific disciplines have given thousands of scientists and scholars
scholarships in their field of endeavours.
