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Fundraising and Endowment Building at a Land Grant University During the Critical Period, 1910-1940: The Failure of Ohio State

Johnson, Benjamin A.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1386057443

Abstract Details

2013, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, EDU Policy and Leadership.
The purpose of this research is to provide an understanding of the financial strategy and shortcomings of The Ohio State University (OSU) in the early 1900s. It focuses on key moments in educational philanthropy, particularly endowment building, at OSU, with comparisons to the University of Michigan (U-M), and occasionally Harvard University. Located in the center of the midwestern state of Ohio, OSU might be considered a quintessential public university, facing challenges comparable to other colleges and universities. This dissertation draws on extensive original source material from OSU’s archives to show the dynamic interplay of university leaders in making key financial decisions. A variety of other primary and secondary sources from both OSU and U-M are also used. The chronological narrative presents the slow and halting journey of OSU toward private fundraising, endowment building, and the creation of the OSU Development Fund. To provide background, discussions on the land grant movement and the founding of OSU are included, as well as a description of the Ohio economy in the early 1900s. Key findings in this research are as follows. In the 1920s, Ohio State University was in a prime position to make great strides in fundraising and in building its endowment. Ohio was a relatively wealthy state, and several other universities had previously and prominently demonstrated how to begin and conduct fundraising campaigns, including annual alumni campaigns at Harvard and Yale. OSU had merely to keep pace with its contemporaries, such as the University of Michigan, to reach prosperity. But despite the factors working in its favor, OSU actually fell rapidly behind in fundraising and endowment building during the period from 1920 to 1940. Notwithstanding the difficult economic climate of the Great Depression, other universities forged ahead in fundraising through this period. OSU’s alumni leaders pushed heavily for progress in fundraising for over a decade before significant changes were made. It took the devastating state appropriations cuts by Governor Martin L. Davey (Gov. 1935-1939) before OSU adopted fundraising as an important source of university income. Indeed, the most influential factor in the university’s lack of fundraising and endowment building during the period from 1920 to 1940 was undoubtedly the unprogressive presidential leadership of both William Oxley Thompson (Pres. 1899-1925) and George W. Rightmire (Acting Pres. 1925-1926; Pres. 1926-1938). Both of these presidents, while they had some positive influences on the university, did not embrace private fundraising until the end of their presidencies, which was far too late. A critical period for growing the endowment had passed, and OSU had lost its lead among its peers, never to regain first place.
Bruce Kimball, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Bryan Warnick, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Ann Allen, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Robert Lawson, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
489 p.
Adult Education; Comparative; Economic History; Economics; Education; Education Finance; Education History; Education Philosophy; Education Policy; Educational Leadership; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; History
Higher Education; History of Education; Philosophy of Education; Public Universities; American History; American Studies; Leadership; Policy Studies; Economics; Fundraising; Endowments; Private Giving

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Citations

  • Johnson, B. A. (2013). Fundraising and Endowment Building at a Land Grant University During the Critical Period, 1910-1940: The Failure of Ohio State [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1386057443

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Johnson, Benjamin. Fundraising and Endowment Building at a Land Grant University During the Critical Period, 1910-1940: The Failure of Ohio State. 2013. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1386057443.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Johnson, Benjamin. "Fundraising and Endowment Building at a Land Grant University During the Critical Period, 1910-1940: The Failure of Ohio State." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1386057443

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1386057443
565
© 2013, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Fundraising and Endowment Building at a Land Grant University During the Critical Period, 1910-1940: The Failure of Ohio State by Benjamin A. Johnson is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.