Abstract
Foundations represent the institutionalization of philanthropy. They are the formal, legal structures that allow an individual or group to gather resources and then carry out deliberate policies and programs. Philanthropic foundations occupy a prominent place in the development of higher education—and in US public policies, based in part on antecedents from England followed by distinctively American modifications over four centuries. 1 In the mid-nineteenth century the Slater Fund and the Peabody Fund were foremost examples of foundation activity—but they were literally “exceptional,” which meant they remained isolated and limited in their influence. This marginal character for philanthropic foundations, however, would soon change dramatically and permanently. 2 Analysis of a chronological succession of selected, significant case studies over the past century in this chapter is intended to illustrate the continuity and change in the role of foundations in shaping American higher education into the twenty-first century.3
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Notes
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© 2014 John R. Thelin and Richard W. Trollinger
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Thelin, J.R., Trollinger, R.W. (2014). Philanthropists and Their Foundations. In: Philanthropy and American Higher Education. Philanthropy and Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137318589_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137318589_4
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