Randolph Foundation
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The Randolph Foundation is a
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
-based charitable foundation that first operated in 1972 as the H. Smith Richardson Charitable Trust. It transitioned to independence from the
Smith Richardson Foundation The Smith Richardson Foundation is a private foundation based in Westport, Connecticut that supports policy research in the realms of foreign and domestic public policy. According to the foundation's website, its mission is "to contribute to im ...
, assuming the name of The Randolph Foundation from 1991–1993, and was reconstituted as a NY
non-profit corporation A nonprofit corporation is any legal entity which has been Incorporation (business), incorporated under the law of its jurisdiction for purposes other than making profits for its owners or shareholders. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, a ...
in 2002. The foundation provides funding primarily for
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
related projects. Heather Higgins (née Richardson) is its President.


Creation and mission

The Randolph Foundation was established as a charitable trust under the will of H. Smith Richardson in 1972. H. Smith Richardson was an heir of
Lunsford Richardson Lunsford Richardson (December 29, 1854 - August 21, 1919) was an American pharmacist from Selma, North Carolina, and the founder of Vick Chemical Company (which became Richardson Vicks Inc.). Early life Lunsford was born in 1854 on a farm near ...
, founder of the
Vicks Vicks is an American brand of over-the-counter medications owned by the American companies Procter & Gamble and Helen of Troy Limited. Vicks manufactures NyQuil and its sister medication, DayQuil as well as other medications in the “Quil” lin ...
chemical company. Chartered with a broad mandate, it was operated under the aegis of the
Smith Richardson Foundation The Smith Richardson Foundation is a private foundation based in Westport, Connecticut that supports policy research in the realms of foreign and domestic public policy. According to the foundation's website, its mission is "to contribute to im ...
's public policy arm, making grants that were, for the most part, indistinguishable from the focus of the Smith Richardson Foundation ''per se''. In the spring of 1991, the Randolph Foundation began to operate as an organization—under new Executive Director Heather Higgins—and in 1993 became wholly separate from the Smith Richardson Foundation. As of 2005, the foundation held just under $70 million in assets."IRS Form 990PF: The Randolph Foundation." Hosted by the Foundation Center. August 2006

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Notable projects

The Randolph Foundation sponsors numerous projects that examine current
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
and offer policy alternatives. Such projects include television programs, films, books, and academic studies.


Television and film

Through its funding of New River Media, the foundation serves as a major source of sponsorship for Public Broadcasting Service, PBS's weekly ''
Think Tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmenta ...
'', which features commentator
Ben J. Wattenberg Benjamin Joseph Wattenberg (born Joseph Ben Zion Wattenberg;Roberts, Sam New York ''Times'', June 29, 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-29. August 26, 1933 – June 28, 2015) was an American author, neoconservative political commentator and demographer, ...
. ''Think Tank'' episodes have featured discussion on such issues as
gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...
and controversies in modern
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
. Again working with New River Media and the team from ''Think Tank'', the foundation provided funding for '' Heaven on Earth: the Rise and Fall of Socialism''. The 2005 film was shown as a three-part mini-series on PBS and is a companion film to the 2002 book of the same name by
Joshua Muravchik Joshua Muravchik (born September 17, 1947 in New York City) is a neoconservative political scholar. A distinguished fellow at the DC-based World Affairs Institute. He is also an adjunct professor at the DC-based Institute of World Politics (since 1 ...
. A PBS synopsis of the film portrayed its central ideas as follows: :''As an idea that changed the way people thought, socialism's success was spectacular. As a critique of capitalism that helped spawn modern social safety nets and welfare states, its success was appreciable. As a model for the development of post-colonial states, the socialist model proved disappointing, fostering economic stagnation among millions of the world's poorest people. And in its most violent forms, socialism was calamitous, claiming scores of millions of lives and helping to make the twentieth century the bloodiest ever.'' The Randolph Foundation was one source of funding for ''God and the Inner City'', a one-hour 2003 documentary chiefly backed by the Pew Charitable Trusts which examined both faith-based and secular charities operating in inner-city environs. The foundation also provided financial support to Free to Choose Media for ''The Power of Choice'', a 2007 film biography of Chicago School
economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...
Milton Friedman Milton Friedman (; July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist and statistician who received the 1976 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for his research on consumption analysis, monetary history and theory and the ...
.


Books

In 1993, the foundation began providing support to
Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
Christopher Wolfe for a project that would eventually culminate in his 2006 book, ''Natural Law Liberalism''. In ''Natural Law Liberalism'', Wolfe advances the position that American public policy should be based on classical
natural law Natural law ( la, ius naturale, ''lex naturalis'') is a system of law based on a close observation of human nature, and based on values intrinsic to human nature that can be deduced and applied independently of positive law (the express enacte ...
theory in the
Thomist Thomism is the philosophical and theological school that arose as a legacy of the work and thought of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274), the Dominican philosopher, theologian, and Doctor of the Church. In philosophy, Aquinas' disputed questions a ...
tradition, which he argues results in policies characteristic of political
liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...
. TRF was also a source of funding for a book produced by the
free-market environmentalist Free-market environmentalism argues that the free market, property rights, and tort law provide the best means of preserving the environment, internalizing pollution costs, and conserving resources. Free-market environmentalists therefore arg ...
Property and Environment Research Center The Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), previously known as the Political Economy Research Center, is a free market environmental think tank based in Bozeman, Montana, United States. Established in 1980, PERC is dedicated to origina ...
(PERC). ''Eco-nomics: What Everyone Should Know about Economics and the Environment'' was penned by
agricultural economist Agricultural economics is an applied field of economics concerned with the application of economic theory in optimizing the production and distribution of food and fiber products. Agricultural economics began as a branch of economics that specif ...
Richard L. Stroup and published by the
Cato Institute The Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank headquartered in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1977 by Ed Crane, Murray Rothbard, and Charles Koch, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Koch Industries.Koch Indust ...
in 2003. The book, which won a 2004 award from the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, targets the "educated lay person," offering public policy recommendations in keeping with the private, market approach to conservation.
Naomi Schaefer Riley Naomi Schaefer Riley ( Schaefer; born c. 1977) is an American conservative commentator and author. Her writings have appeared in the ''Wall Street Journal'', ''The New York Times'', ''The Boston Globe'', ''The Los Angeles Times'', ''The New Yo ...
received a grant from the foundation for her book, ''God on the Quad: How Religious Colleges and the Missionary Generation Are Changing America''. The 2004
St. Martin's Press St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in Manhattan, New York City, in the Equitable Building. St. Martin's Press is considered one of the largest English-language publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under si ...
offering was the result of research conducted by Riley at twenty higher education institutions affiliated with a religious group. The book examines classes and student life at institutions including
Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...
,
Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...
, and
Bob Jones University , motto_lang = Latin , mottoeng = We seek, we trust , top_free_label = , top_free = , type = Private university , established = , closed = , f ...
and discusses the potential impact of these schools' growing attendance on those interested in "bringing faith into the professional world." Currently, TRF is funding a
Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...
book project by CFR senior fellow
Max Boot Max Alexandrovich Boot (born September 12, 1969) is an American author, consultant, editorialist, lecturer, and military historian. He worked as a writer and editor for ''Christian Science Monitor'' and then for ''The Wall Street Journal'' in the ...
. The project, which has been in progress since 2003 and is also sponsored by several other organizations, :''...examines four major technological revolutions of the past 500 years (Gunpowder, Industrial, Mechanization, and Computerization) and how they transformed warfare and the international balance-of-power.... In addition, Mr. Boot applies the lessons of history to current dilemmas, examining crucial questions such as how long America's military advantage will last, and what the United States can do to preserve its hegemony.''


Research

Besides the research performed by Riley for ''God on the Quad'', other studies funded by the Randolph Foundation examined higher education in the United States. A controversial 2004 study by TRF-supported scholars found that "72 percent of teachers at American colleges and universities identify themselves as liberal, compared with 15 percent who describe themselves as conservative, with the liberal tilt greatest at elite schools and in humanities and social sciences departments." This study was cited by various columnists including
Cal Thomas John Calvin Thomas (born 2 December 1942) is an American syndicated columnist, author and radio commentator. Early life and education Thomas was born in 1942 in Washington, D.C. He attended the American University for his undergraduate educat ...
. Its methodology and conclusions were criticized by the
American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States. AAUP membership includes over 500 local campus chapters and 39 state organizations. The AAUP's stated mission is ...
. TRF is funding a six-year
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...
study examining
parental leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, Paternity (law), paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" an ...
policies in United States universities and their possible effect on
gender roles A gender role, also known as a sex role, is a social role encompassing a range of behaviors and attitudes that are generally considered acceptable, appropriate, or desirable for a person based on that person's sex. Gender roles are usually cent ...
. According to a description on the university's website, the fundamental questions to be addressed by the study relate to the fact that, :''There is an ongoing quarrel in the academic literature between
evolutionary psychologists Evolutionary psychology is a theoretical approach in psychology that examines cognition and behavior from a modern evolutionary perspective. It seeks to identify human psychological adaptations with regards to the ancestral problems they evolv ...
and most feminists. The evolutionary psychologists believe that there are deep-seated hormonal and other reasons why women have done and probably always will do the vast majority of baby care. Most feminists believe that society constructs for women the role of baby care and that, with effort, this can be changed.''"Project Description: Parental Leave & Gender in U.S. Universities." OSCAR.
University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...



Organizations funded

In addition to sponsoring the projects noted above, TRF has also served as a source of funding for a number of other organizations,"Randolph Foundation Grant Recipients." Media Transparency
including:


Policy and advocacy organizations


Educational institutions


Notes

{{reflist, 30em 1972 establishments in New York (state) Political and economic research foundations in the United States Non-profit organizations based in New York City Organizations established in 1972