Introduction

In January 1929, full operations began at the Rockefeller Foundation's Division of Social Sciences. By assuming oversight of many programmes developed by the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Memorial, the reorganized Foundation now had four divisions – the others being the medical sciences, the natural sciences and the humanities. The process of merging the Memorial's programme into the Foundation was a couple of years in the making. It included rounds of discussion between leaders in Rockefeller philanthropy and leaders in the social sciences. Memorial officers especially prepared for the transition by initiating a self-evaluation study.

Self-Review

By November 1927, Beardsley Ruml had a clear list of guiding principles articulated for the philanthropic support of social science; the Memorial's trustees formally adopted Ruml's principles that month. He had worked on the principles for five years, and in the end there were eleven of them. They were to increase the stock of knowledge and appreciation of scientific methods; to promote diffusion of knowledge; to pursue studies of broad subject matter; to include both pure and applied projects; to have a programme that was international in extent; to disallow the Memorial from any direct influence on research findings; to find workable ways to support studies of controversial subjects; to support a variety of institutional types; to recognize that practical applications are necessary for testing scientific progress; to provide individual fellowships; and that ‘the general aim of the program is better understanding of modern society’.