Decade: 1930s

In the 1930s, an ambitious program to reshape China was cut short by war, but offered a model for community development.

In nearly a century of activity in the field of economics, the Foundation initiated new research centers and training programs around the world.

Supporting American writers and the journals that publish their work.

A new program in the natural sciences increased funding and attention to the life sciences, and coined a new term along the way.

A new organization played an important part in assisting the Rockefeller Foundation by assembling cooperative studies on the issues of the day.

Partnering with public agencies to encourage efficient administration in state, county, and local governments.

Encouraging cross-cultural knowledge in an interconnected postwar world by shaping new interdisciplinary programs and retooling traditional academic fields.

Working to change US medical education was one of the Rockefeller Foundation’s biggest endeavors in the 1910s and 1920s, extending from Johns Hopkins in Baltimore to Beijing, China.

When Dr. Katherine Bement Davis was named general secretary of the Bureau in 1917, her appointment transformed the organization to take into deeper account women’s sexuality.

The Rockefeller Foundation evolved to bring the arts and humanities together, from classical archaeology to contemporary museums.