We are sharing here the latest edition of our “New Research” series. It provides the public with an opportunity to read the most recently published Rockefeller Archive Center research reports. These reports have been prepared by RAC research stipend recipients who have come to our reading room to study the archival materials that we preserve and make available to users from around the world. The reports showcase the wide range of collections that they have used, spanning different time periods and disciplines. This edition’s set of reports reflects researchers’ use of the records from the Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller, the Rockefeller Foundation, the General Education Board, the Social Science Research Council, and the Ford Foundation. The papers of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. are also cited, as well as a previously published RAC research report.
“John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Public Law Enforcement: A Progressive Era Public-Private Partnership” by Abbie Reese
In her report, “John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Public Law Enforcement: A Progressive Era Public-Private Partnership,” Abbie Reese argues that an informal group of philanthropists and industrialists were actively involved with shaping urban law enforcement policy in the early twentieth century. At the center of these efforts was John D. Rockefeller, Jr. (JDR, Jr.), who supported a variety of organizations, such as the American Vigilance Association. He went on to found the Bureau of Social Hygiene, incorporated in 1913, chartered to encourage “the study, amelioration, and prevention of those social conditions, crimes, and diseases which adversely affect the well being of society.” JDR, Jr. and his advisors also cultivated the interest of other similarly “concerned citizens,” particularly in New York and Chicago, creating an unofficial network of advocates. Inspired by concepts of the Progressive Era, they called for “scientific approaches” and the expertise of professionals to frame campaigns to address urban ills such as crime, prostitution, and illegal drugs. Studying materials from the “Rockefeller Boards” series of the Office of the Messrs. Rockefeller records, the researcher observes that these organizations, and the people (and money) behind them, ultimately helped set this era’s policing agendas for two of the largest US cities.
Abbie Reese is a doctoral candidate studying US history and public history at Loyola University Chicago, who was awarded a 2023 RAC research stipend. Her research interests include the history of women, gender, and sexuality, as well as the history of policing, surveillance, and the law.
“The Rockefeller Foundation, Mental Health, and Great War British Army Veterans during the 1930s” by Michael Robinson
Michael Robinson came to RAC from Britain to continue his research on the mental health of British World War I veterans. His report, “The Rockefeller Foundation, Mental Health, and Great War British Army Veterans during the 1930s,” highlights the extensive documentation in the Rockefeller Foundation (RF) records on grants for British psychiatric research. During this period, Britain was already undergoing a process of dismantling large “lunatic asylums,” which housed a wide-range of diagnosed patients, including individuals with epilepsy, dementia, and now WWI veterans. He notes that the Foundation’s grantmaking at this time had a major impact on this transition process, and on the overall healthcare of veterans in two ways. The RF provided critical funding to institutions with psychiatric research and mental health services, such as Maudsley Hospital and the Tavistock Clinic. Also, grants to mental health professional organizations and fellowships aided practitioners (many who had been veterans of the war) in smaller mental health institutions outside of the urban centers. According to the researcher, the records point to a growing recognition, even during the 1930s era of austerity, of the need to expand the mental health care beyond the treatment of the “insane” to dealing with psychoneurotic diseases of different severities, many of which traumatized war veterans had suffered. Dr. Robinson concludes his report in expressing that the visit to RAC not only provided him with valuable materials for his study, but also points to future research opportunities, extending the story of British war veterans and psychiatric care into the World War II era.
Michael Robinson is a postdoctoral National Army Museum research fellow at the University of Birmingham. His research interests focus on British veterans, their experiences with “shell shock,” and the impact of national responses on their daily lives. He was 2024 RAC research stipend recipient.
“Well-Adjusted?: Robert Havighurst and the Study of Old Age” by Jamie Leach
Robert Havighurst is well known as a mid-20th century expert on human development. During the 1940s, he shifted his interests from child development to questions of aging. Jamie Leach’s research report, “Well-Adjusted?: Robert Havighurst and the Study of Old Age,” looks at the intellectual underpinnings for this transition. Using records from the General Education Board, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Social Science Research Council, the researcher points out that World War II was a catalyst for a growing interest about the place of senior citizens in society. This was different from the Depression-era focus on elderly poverty that was partially addressed by New Deal policies creating Social Security. Instead, the need for older people to re-enter the workforce as part of the war effort raised broader questions about aging in a modern society. Jamie Leach found that Havighurst and his colleagues at the University of Chicago drew their vision on the social role of the elderly from their understanding of psychology and sociology. In this regard, they saw aging as a series of social adjustments and reorientations. The researcher notes that Havighurst’s world view on this issue was also influenced by his earlier life experiences engaging with both the General Education Board and the Social Science Research Council; both of these archival collections extensively documented this earlier part of his career.
Jamie Leach received a Ph.D. in History from Carnegie Mellon University in 2025. A historian of the social sciences, research interests include the study of the human lifespan as a research subject and the ways that scientific knowledge is used to manage how people grow and transition from one phase of life to another. Jamie Leach was a 2024 RAC research stipend recipient.
“Promoting Racial Equity through For-profit Commercial Real Estate: The Ford Foundation, Progress Plaza, and the Zion Non-Profit Charitable Trust, 1967-1974” by Emily Rosenman
In her report, “Promoting Racial Equity through For-profit Commercial Real Estate: The Ford Foundation, Progress Plaza, and the Zion Non-Profit Charitable Trust, 1967-1974,” Emily Rosenman presents the Ford Foundation’s efforts to foster African American employment and economic opportunities through investments in community business enterprises. In the aftermath of the 1968 assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., there was a sense of urgency in finding ways to address root causes of racial inequality. She traces the foundation’s decision to fund the work of the Zion Non-Profit Charitable Trust (ZNPCT), and later, the Zion Investment Associates (ZIA), to support construction and financial sustenance of Progress Plaza, a shopping center housing Black-owned businesses in Philadelphia. Ford’s support was based on a belief that fostering private sector economic development was a valuable strategy for enhancing racial equity via economic uplift. Studying grant files, program officers’ reports, and correspondence, the researcher notes that through a combination of grants, loan forgiveness, and technical assistance, the Ford Foundation made a heavy commitment, through the mid-1970s, to the success of the project. At the end of her report, Emily Roseman reflects on future opportunities for researchers to study the response of philanthropies and corporations to another era of racial unrest, the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020. She suspects that future historians will find that in the aftermath of George Floyd’s killing, the study of related archival sources on efforts to address social inequity and racism will not only be very enlightening but will also provide an opportunity to compare and contrast this era’s programs with the documentation following the 1968 unrest.
Emily Rosenman is an associate professor of geography at Pennsylvania State University. Her research interests include the study of the connections between finance, urbanization and inequality. She was a 2023 RAC research stipend recipient.
About the RAC Research Stipend Program
The Rockefeller Archive Center offers a competitive research stipend program that provides individuals up to $5,000 for reimbursement of travel and accommodation expenses. Learn more on our Research Stipend page.
