The Role of Philanthropy in Education Research

Session Type: Invited Speaker Session

Abstract

Foundations have changed dramatically in the past 100 years. In 1916, as AERA was getting off the ground, John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie had just endowed their foundations. The Ford, William T. Grant, and Spencer Foundations did not even exist. A century later, the foundation landscape is quite different. There are large philanthropies such as Gates, Broad, and Walton, with living donors whose fortunes arose from different industries and different times. With shifting historical tides, the role of philanthropy in public education confronts some of the same issues but also new ones. This session will feature foundation leaders and observers for a vibrant and provocative discussion of the role of philanthropy should (and should not) play in public education, particularly as it relates to research.

Sub Unit

• AERA Presidential Session

Chair

• Vivian Tseng, William T. Grant Foundation

Participants

• Michael S. McPherson, The Spencer Foundation

• Frederick M. Hess, American Enterprise Institute

• Frederick J. Frelow, Ford Foundation