Doctoral Dissertation Research: Philanthropic Investments in Academic Research Centers

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Individual donors have a long history of making philanthropic gifts to colleges and universities. This doctoral dissertation research project will examine motivations and social benefits of private gifts to support scientific research centers. The project will enhance the understanding of the scientific and social outcomes of research centers established by gifts from individual donors. The findings from this project will be used by governmental officials, university administrators and scholars. The findings will be important to understand how large gifts to science at colleges and universities influences scientific discovery and the types of social benefit these gifts provide to science, the local community and broader society.The project relies on qualitative and quantitative methods to provide systematic evidence of the trends and outcomes of philanthropic gifts made by individuals to establish new research centers at academic institutions. The project will employ advanced computing and statistical modeling approaches to test for the significance of donor and institutional variables impacting the establishment of over 100 research centers. In addition, semi-structured interviews with donors, academic fundraising personnel and center directors will provide qualitative data on donors' willingness to give and their expectations for their investments. Case studies on selected research centers will be assessed for their varying levels of scientific impact (e.g. number of patents and publications). The research will provide new insights on how donors formally and informally impact scientific outcomes when making large gifts to science. The database will be made publicly available for researchers, policymakers and administrators.