The Franklin W. Olin Foundation, founded as the Olin Foundation in 1938 by
Franklin W. Olin, was an independent grantmaking
foundation
Foundation may refer to:
* Foundation (nonprofit), a type of charitable organization
** Foundation (United States law), a type of charitable organization in the U.S.
** Private foundation, a charitable organization that, while serving a good cause ...
from its founding in 1938 until it spent down its corpus and closed down in 2005.
History
![Olin Hall Chemical Engineering, Cornell University](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Olin_Hall_Chemical_Engineering%2C_Cornell_University.jpg)
Olin used the foundation for personal giving, including gifts for a
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
building in the
Engineering Quadrangle at
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
and a
vocational high school
A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...
in Alton, Illinois. In creating the foundation, Olin passed control of what would become the
Olin Corporation
Olin Corporation is an American manufacturer of ammunition, chlorine, and sodium hydroxide. The company traces its roots to two companies, both founded in 1892: Franklin W. Olin's Equitable Powder Company and the Mathieson Alkali Works. Olin che ...
to his sons,
Spencer and
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
, while donating controlling shares to the foundation. "The old man then took his marbles out of the game," as ''
Fortune'' described the transaction. "He plunked his stock into a charitable foundation.... If the boys did not want control of the company to pass to the foundation on his death, they'd jolly well have to hustle up the money to buy back the shares."
The Olin sons did that, which left $50 million in the foundation's corpus,
making it one of the largest foundations in the country.
After Olin died in 1951, his three trustees—Charles L. Horn, an Olin business associate; tax attorney James O. Wynn; and financial consultant Ralph Clark
—continued Olin's grant program under the same principles as his Cornell gift: funding academic buildings while paying the full cost, including equipment and furnishings. They hired no staff and administered the program at the
trustee
Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...
level.
Grants to vocational schools in the
segregated South
In the United States, racial segregation is the systematic separation of facilities and services such as Housing in the United States, housing, Healthcare in the United States, healthcare, Education in the United States, education, Employment in ...
required that schools be racially integrated.
In the 1970s, new board members were elected: business executive Carlton T. Helming, lawyer Lawrence W. Milas, and business executive William B. Horn (son of previous board member Charles). Horn and Helming were later replaced by William Norden and William Schmidt.
They continued the previous pattern of grantmaking until 1997. From 1938 to 1997, the Olin Foundation distributed grants for 78 buildings at 58 institutions, briefly listed below.
"We always had a bias toward supporting science and engineering schools because Mr. Olin was an engineer," Milas said.
In the 1990s, the foundation decided to wind down philanthropic operations by founding a new college, with the intention of eventually transferring remaining funds from the foundation to the college (discussed below). In 2005, the foundation dissolved itself and transferred remaining assets to
Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering, officially Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, is a private college focused on engineering and located in Needham, Massachusetts. Olin College is noted in the engineering community for its relatively recent fou ...
. The foundation closed in the same year as the
John M. Olin Foundation, which was established by Franklin's son
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
. The John M. Olin Foundation also shut down for reasons of preserving
donor intent
A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as rep ...
, though the organizations are unrelated.
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
In the early 1990s, the board of the Olin Foundation began to worry about the perpetuation of
donor intent
A donor in general is a person, organization or government which donates something voluntarily. The term is usually used to represent a form of pure altruism, but is sometimes used when the payment for a service is recognized by all parties as rep ...
in subsequent generations. "We were concerned about how we were going to find people committed to continue the grant program, who wouldn't come in with their own agenda, their own baggage, and try to change things around," Milas said. "With the escalation of building costs, would we be able to sustain that grant program? We were locked into what we had as a private foundation. Would we remain relevant if we couldn't substantially grow our assets?"
The board evaluated options, and decided to pursue an idea that Olin had suggested in the 1940s: starting a new college.
In 1997, they chartered the
Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
Olin College of Engineering, officially Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, is a private college focused on engineering and located in Needham, Massachusetts. Olin College is noted in the engineering community for its relatively recent fou ...
and made an initial gift of $200 million. Milas was president initially, but he soon hired
Richard Miller as the college's president and first full-time employee.
In 2005, after the college had been operating for several years, the foundation dissolved itself and transferred the balance of its endowment, an additional $250 million, to the college.
Other buildings and schools funded by the foundation
The following is an incomplete list of other schools, programs, or buildings funded by the Franklin W. Olin foundation before its closure:
* William H. Coleman Hall at
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...
* F. W. Olin Science Building at
Bucknell University
Bucknell University is a private liberal arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts and Sciences, Freeman College of Management, and the College of Engineering ...
* Olin Center for Educational Technology,
Augustana College (Illinois)
* F. W. Olin Building,
Southwestern University
Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...
* Franklin W. Olin Building
Luther College (Iowa)
Luther College is a private Lutheran liberal arts college in Decorah, Iowa. Established as a Lutheran seminary in 1861 by Norwegian immigrants, the school today is an institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The upper campu ...
* F. W. Olin Center,
Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
* F. W. Olin Center,
Tufts University
Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...
*
F. W. Olin Graduate School of Business, Babson College
*
F. W. Olin Hall, University of Denver
* F. W. Olin Hall, fine arts building at
Roanoke College
Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...
* F. W. Olin Hall, residence hall at
Cornell College
Cornell College is a private college in Mount Vernon, Iowa. Originally the Iowa Conference Seminary, the school was founded in 1853 by George Bryant Bowman. Four years later, in 1857, the name was changed to Cornell College, in honor of iron ty ...
* F. W. Olin Hall, residence hall at
Weill Cornell Medicine
The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York.
Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...
* F. W. Olin Library at
Mills College
Mills College at Northeastern University is a private college in Oakland, California and part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was ...
*
F. W. Olin Physical Sciences Center, Florida Institute of Technology
* F. W. Olin Science Center,
Harvey Mudd College
* F. W. Olin Science Center, containing the
Olin Observatory
Olin Observatory is an astronomical observatory in New London, Connecticut (USA), owned and operated by Connecticut College. It is part of the F.W. Olin Science Center. The observatory hosts public stargazing events, and is also used for undergr ...
, Connecticut College
* Franklin W. Olin Jr. Hall,
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
* Olin Arts Center,
Bates College
Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...
* Olin Engineering Building,
Hampton University
*
Olin Fine Arts Center
Washington & Jefferson College is a private liberal arts college in Washington, Pennsylvania, which is located in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The college traces its origin to three log cabin colleges in Washington County, Pennsylvania e ...
, Washington & Jefferson College
* Olin Hall, housing the physics department of
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) is a Private university, private research university in Worcester, Massachusetts. Founded in 1865 in Worcester, WPI was one of the United States' first engineering and technology universities and now has 14 ac ...
*Olin Hall, housing the departments of biology, psychology, and environmental science and sustainability of
Drake University
Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States.
His ...
.
*Olin Hall,
Whitman College
Whitman College is a private liberal arts college in Walla Walla, Washington. The school offers 53 majors and 33 minors in the liberal arts and sciences, and it has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9:1. Whitman was the first college in the Pacific ...
* Olin Hall of Science,
Carleton College
*
Olin Library (Rollins College)
* Olin Science Building,
Colby College
Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philant ...
* Olin Hall,
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...
* Franklin W. Olin Building,
Alfred University
* Olin Building,
Centre College
Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is a ...
* Franklin W. Olin Building,
Wofford College
Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina. It was founded in 1854. The campus is a national arboretum and one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the America ...
* Olin Hall,
Roanoke College
Roanoke College is a private liberal arts college in Salem, Virginia. It has approximately 2,000 students who represent approximately 40 states and 30 countries. The college offers 35 majors, 57 minors and concentrations, and pre-professional pr ...
* Olin Hall,
University of San Diego
* Olin School of Business,
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...
Olin Physical Laboratory Wake Forest University
Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...
* Olin Arts and Communication Center/Humanities Building,
Concordia College (Moorhead, Minnesota)
Concordia College is a private college in Moorhead, Minnesota. Founded by Norwegian settlers in 1891, the school is associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and practices the liberal arts. Concordia is accredited by the Higher ...
* Olin Hall,
University of Akron
The University of Akron is a public research university in Akron, Ohio. It is part of the University System of Ohio. As a STEM-focused institution, it focuses on industries such as polymers, advanced materials, and engineering. It is classifie ...
See also
*
John M. Olin Foundation, named for Franklin W. Olin's son
References
External links
Official page on Olin College websiteArticle in ''Philanthropy'' magazine
{{Authority control
Educational foundations in the United States