Editors’ Note: Continuing the site’s forum on philanthropy & education, Michael Limberg presents some of his ongoing dissertation research on early twentieth century U.S. development in the Near East. By 1920, field workers and administrators of the New York-based humanitarian agency Near East Relief realized they had a problem: they had been extremely successful, perhaps too successful, … Continue reading
Category Archives: Philanthropy and Education
Economics was Once Radical: Then It Decided Not to Be
Editors’ Note: Continuing the philanthropy & education forum, Marshall I. Steinbaum and Bernard A. Weisberger discuss the politics of knowledge in U.S. economics associations and universities in the late nineteenth century. Though the authors do not write directly on philanthropy, the piece provides an opportunity to think about the ways that, even today, cultural contexts and individual trustees and … Continue reading
The Economics of Funding Undergraduate Education in the United States
Editors’ Note: With this contribution, Thomas Adam continues the site’s philanthropy & education forum. Rising tuition fees and a lack of scholarship support for an increasing number of college students forces more and more students to finance their university education through student loans. According to the Institute for College Access and Success, in the seven … Continue reading
Overstating the Role of Philanthropy in Education Reform
Editors’ Note: The philanthropy & education forum continues with this contribution by William Schambra. One thing upon which friends and foes of school choice agree: without the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, the initial education voucher experiment in Milwaukee would never have occurred. As fierce voucher opponent People for the American Way put it in 2003, … Continue reading
Foundations and Education Reform in the Jim Crow South
Editors’ Note: Joan Malczewski continues the site’s philanthropy & education forum. William C. Chance established the Parmele Industrial Institute in Martin County, North Carolina, in 1910. Chance was an experienced educator with great ambitions, but it was difficult in the Jim Crow South to sustain an independent black school. Four years later, when his house was … Continue reading
Noting the Lessons from Newark & the Annenberg Challenge
Editors’ Note: Alexander Russo continues the site’s ongoing discussion on philanthropy & education. One of the main concerns about the current era of school reform is that its approach is “top-down” rather than “bottom-up.” That is, the methods and approaches that are used are designed and implemented by consultants and district administrators rather than community … Continue reading
The Unity of Philanthropy and Education
Editors’ Note: George McCully continues the site’s dialogue on philanthropy & education. Recent research into the meaning of the word “philanthropy” by reference to its etymology and history, has revealed that today’s customary usage is a pale reflection of the great tradition, which we would do well now to revive —especially in thinking about philanthropy … Continue reading
Upcoming Philamplify Debate on Reform Strategies in Education
Next Tuesday, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy will host their first Philamplify debate on “Reform Strategies in Education.” Philamplify is the novel evaluative tool that NCRP designed, using some of the principles of crowd-sourcing, in which the NCRP performs a deep investigation into a single foundation, but also opens up the process to the … Continue reading
Reimagining Education: Philanthropy and Public Policy
Editors’ Note: Robin Rogers argues that philanthropy has undergone great change since the turn of this century, and particularly in the education sector. In her analysis of this “new” philanthropy, she engages with Johann Neem’s and Jeffrey Snyder’s recent contributions to the site’s philanthropy & education forum. Laurene Powell Jobs, Steve Job’s widow, just gave fifty million … Continue reading
Do Old and New K-12 Education Philanthropy Differ?
Editors’ Note: Jeffrey W. Snyder continues the site’s philanthropy & education forum. Much of the emerging research on philanthropic involvement in K-12 education focuses on the “new” breed of extremely prominent funders like the Gates, Walton, and Broad foundations. These studies are undoubtedly important, and show how this newly emergent group has very defined preferences … Continue reading
Why We Consider Public Schools Public & Charter Schools Private
Editors’ Note: This piece by Johann N. Neem continues the site’s philanthropy & education forum. Earlier this month, the Washington Supreme Court determined that charter schools are ineligible to receive public school funds under the 1889 state constitution. Article 9, section 2 of the Washington constitution states that “the entire revenue derived from the common … Continue reading
Lessons from Mark Zuckerberg’s Grant for Educational Reform in Newark
Editors’ Note: As part of the ongoing forum on philanthropy & education, author of Follow the Money: How Foundation Dollars Change Public Schools Sarah Reckhow discusses Dale Russakoff’s recently-published book, The Prize: Who’s in Charge of America’s Schools? In 2010, Facebook Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a $100 million grant for educational reform in Newark on The Oprah Winfrey … Continue reading
Finding the Funding: The Professionalization of Development in American Higher Education
Editors’ Note: Today, John Thelin opens this site’s forum on the relationship between philanthropy and education. Readers, please feel free to comment on these posts, both via the comments section and Twitter, and please do reach out to us with post suggestions. And though we are moving on from last month’s discussion on philanthropy & inequality, also please … Continue reading
A Call for Contributions on the Chicago Annenberg Challenge
As part of HistPhil‘s education theme, we’d like to run a post, or a number of posts, on the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, which can be regarded as a precedent for some of the major educational philanthropic interventions of the current moment. If you are doing work on the Challenge, or know a scholar, researcher or … Continue reading
Shifting Focus: From Inequality to Education
With Erica Kohl-Arenas’ recent piece, HistPhil‘s forum on inequality comes to an end. This is not to say that our attention toward the issue will wane; we still welcome contributions and discussions on the topic. But at the start of September, we’ll be moving on to a focus on another theme: the history of the … Continue reading
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