TAX-EXEMPT FOUNDATIONS'
e
5
83
"
pulled into a university. Personally, I regret to see the small
colleges raided in this way by the great universities taking off the
faculties of these small colleges-teachers who are doing so muchgood for the American people
.
The CHAIRMAN
. But there would be less likelihood of the so-called
raiding both of the faculty and the graduate students in the small
colleges if grants were more general and made available to the out-
standing faculty members and the outstanding students, don't youthink?
Dr
. Cou GROVE
. Oh, yes, quite true
. Quite true
. We have had a
number of universities that have raided small colleges almost to theirdestruction
. President Harper of the University of Chicago raided
Clark University, took pretty largely all of its talent to the Uni-
versity of Chicago. But that was before the foundations were greatlyoperative; and of course he did it by offering, on the one hand, re-
search facilities, and on the other hand, much higher salaries than
they were getting at Clark University
.
Mr
. HAYS
. There is just the point of the whole thing
. You your-
self say that is before the foundations got into the picture
. It hap-pened. And it is the same thing that is happening to the one-room
school, the little red schoolhouse
. Everybody likes to get nostalgic
about it in talking about it, but they are slowly disappearing, and I
do not think that the foundations have anything to do with that,
do they?
Dr
. CoLEGRovE
. No, it is the better transportation system and thebetter facilities offered to the pupils at the township schools
.
Mr
. HAYS
. It has only been in the last 1.0 years that you dared to
run for office if you had not been born in a log cabin and had not
gone to the little red schoolhouse
.
The CHAIRMAN
. I have met both requirements
.
Mr
. WoRMSER
. Professor, I would like your comments on this sub-
ject, if you will
. The trustees of these foundations have a distinct
fiduciary responsibility which they recognize, in principle, at least,as the trustees of public funds
. It seems to me the most important
trust function they have is to exercise judgment in connection with
the selection of grants and grantees. Does it not seem to you that toa very large extent they have abandoned that trust function, that trustduty, and have delegated the whole thing to other organizations? Thatin certain areas they have used these intermediate organizations to ful-fill their judgment function for them, which they, as trustees, should
exercise? Would you comment on that?
Dr
. COLEGROVE
. I think that has very largely occurred
. I do not
quite like to put it this way, but the trustees are in many cases justwindow dressing to give popular confidence in the institution
. In the
United States we think an institution needs a very distinguished boardof trustees; and, of course, you know, from college experience, a great
many men are made trustees of a university because the university
expects them to make a large donation to the endowment fund or build
a building or something like that. And to offset a group of rich
trustees, you put on some trustees who have large reputations in theliterary world or in other fields than merely finance
.
Many of the trustees, I am afraid, have gotten into a very bad habit
.
They are perfectly realistic
. They know why they are put on the