The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation was established in 1913 by John D. Rockefeller Sr. to "promote the well-being" of humanity by addressing the root causes of serious problems. It is one of the nation's largest private foundations. The foundation supports work globally to expand opportunities for poor and vulnerable people and to help ensure that the benefits of globalization are shared more equitably. It is one of the few institutions to conduct such work both within the United States and internationally. Recent grants to arts organizations include support to Americans for the Arts toward the development of the National Arts Index, support of National Video Resources toward the Program for Media Artists, and a grant to Creative Capital to support the creation of new work in the performing arts. The foundation also launched the New York City Cultural Innovation Fund, an effort that recognizes and supports innovation and new opportunities in the cultural arena that will strengthen and advance the role the arts play in the future of the city.
Judith Rodin, USA Board member, has served as president of the Rockefeller Foundation since March 2005. Trained as a research psychologist, Dr. Rodin was previously the president of the University of Pennsylvania and, before that, the provost of Yale University. Born and raised in Philadelphia, she graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and received her PhD from Columbia University. A pioneer in the behavioral medicine movement, she taught at New York University before embarking on 22 years on the faculty at Yale, where she ultimately held appointments in both the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Medicine. Named president at Penn in 1994, she was the first woman to serve as president of Ivy League institution. During the decade of her leadership, Penn doubled its research funding and tripled both its annual fund-raising and the size of its endowment; launched a comprehensive, award-winning, and internationally acclaimed neighborhood revitalization program; attracted record numbers of undergraduate applicants and created Penn's most selective classes ever; and rose in the leading national ranking of research universities from 16th to fourth.
Dr. Rodin serves on a number of leading nonprofit boards, as well as on the boards of AMR Corporation, Citigroup, and Comcast Corporation. She is the author of more than 200 academic articles and chapters and has written or cowritten twelve books, including most recently The University and Urban Revival. She served on President Clinton's Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology. A member of a number of leading academic societies, including the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, she has received 14 honorary doctorate degrees.
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