Season of Giving

Harvard’s Committee on University Resources (COUR), a body composed of individuals who have given donations of $1 million or more to the University, convened this weekend at the Charles Hotel for its annual symposium. But even among the big donors, one man stood out from the crowd. David Rockefeller ’36 gave a $100 million gift to support Harvard’s international programs and arts education, making the bequest—announced Friday—one of the largest donations the University has ever received. We commend Mr. Rockefeller for his generosity, which is exemplary of what funding with a vision can do to effect change.

Directed gifts, or donations with a specific vision, can lead to more effective implementation, and we expect that Harvard’s international and arts programs will visibly develop and prosper as a result of Rockefeller’s generosity. This recent gift was not Rockefeller’s first to the University, and it follows on the heels of his many previous donations towards Harvard’s Latin American studies center. His previous donations offer ample evidence for what donation with a vision can do. Since its creation in 1994, the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies has opened offices in Brazil, Chile and Cambridge, supporting Harvard students and faculty in an interdisciplinary approach towards understanding the complexity of Latin American studies. The Center organizes events and conferences to bring scholars together, provides grants to students and faculty, and produces publications that disseminate scholarship concerning Latin America.

The timing of Rockefeller’s most recent gift indicates the importance of University leadership in the development process. Rockefeller had planned to give this donation to the university under former University President Lawrence H. Summers, who shared Rockefeller’s vision and dedication towards international study. But after Summers’s departure, Rockefeller withheld his gift from Interim President Derek C. Bok. His decision to give under Faust, and his tailoring of the project to Faust’s own interest in the arts, is an indication of Rockefeller’s belief in the current University president. It is important that the University has a president and administration that donors believe will be able to follow through on their visions.

Although Rockefeller’s gift will certainly improve Harvard’s international opportunities for students with this influx of money, the Office of International Programs will also have to step up its administrative processes in order to take full advantage of the donation. The gift will go a long way in terms of funding students and programs, but within the study abroad administration, there could still be improvements on various different aspects of the process, such as transferring of course credits and student advising.

Rockefeller’s gift is indication of the University’s current emphasis and attention given to international pursuits, and while we laud this effort, we hope that the administration also looks to increase resources and opportunities for domestic programs. International experience can be transformative and intellectually stimulating, but Harvard students stand to gain a lot from our nearer surroundings as well. There tends to be a greater emphasis on funding and opportunities for international study, which of course requires more expensive airfare and logistical support, but the University could do more to support local study as well.

In the meantime, with the resources of Rockefeller’s gift, and under the leadership of Faust, Harvard students should look forward to an ever-growing opportunity for international experience and artistic endeavor.