The internationalization of American higher education during the 1960s: The involvement of the Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation in Education and World Affairs

Education and World Affairs (EWA) was established in 1962 as a private non-profit organization to encourage and guide the international endeavors of American institutions of higher education. The Ford Foundation facilitated the creation of the organization and provided funding as did the Carnegie Corporation of New York. During this time, the late 1950s through the mid 1960s, there was great interest by the major foundations and the federal government in international education and in strengthening the involvement of colleges and universities in world affairs.;This historical research study explores the impact that the major foundations and the federal government had on the internationalization of American colleges and universities through the establishment of EWA. The study tells the story of EWA and its efforts to support the internationalization of not only the most prestigious universities, but all institution of higher education regardless of size, location, or affiliation. The study examines the role of EWA as an intermediary organization which was created by the foundations to influence policy without the foundations themselves becoming directly involved.;There are two sets of research questions asked in this study. The first set attempts to clarify the role that the major foundations and the federal government played in the internal affairs of American higher education as evident in their funding of programs to internationalize campuses. The second set focuses on EWA and its relationship with its funding sources. To explore these questions and to write the story of EWA, archival documents were examined and oral histories of men closely involved with EWA were recorded.;The implications of this study are that there are few controls on the major foundations. These foundations choose their own agendas based on self-interest and consultation with similarly minded individuals. They freely developed and funded programs related to their interests and stayed or left their projects at will regardless of the needs of the public they claim to serve. These implications raise important questions related to the foundations' accountability.