Oral history interview with D. Ellen Shuman, 2012.

Biographical Note

Former Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the Carnegie Corporation of New York

Scope and Contents

Childhood: born in Illinois, raised in Washington D.C., inspired by father to contribute to society; admitted into the second class of women accepted at Bowdoin College in Maine; received a Masters of Public and Private Management at Yale University School of Management; interest in non-profit management developed from family values; differences in investment strategy and governance in private foundations and educational institutions; management of portfolio by the investment committee before and after the 2008 financial crisis; dynamics and interaction between the investment committee and the board of directors; grantmaking as socially responsible investing; fluctuation of purchasing power and the benefits of a stable spend rate; investment committee chairs: Vincent Mai, Marty Leibowitz, Geoffrey T. Boisi; development of investment staff; deciding to leave the Carnegie Corporation of New York; interactions with Carnegie program staff; social responsibilities of staff and board; evaluating programs quantitatively; transitioning to the leadership of Vartan Gregorian; lasting influence of Andrew Carnegie on Carnegie Corporation staff and programs; concerns about future of U.S. philanthropy: efficiency, accountability; pressure on Carnegie to act in response to world events: September 11, 2001, Hurricane Katrina, 2010 earthquake in Haiti; capital aggregation technique to yield larger return at Edna McConnell Clark Foundation; comparing: large and small foundations, educational institutions, individual pet projects, specific problem-focused foundations; investment policy shifts as a result of the 2008 financial crisis; Carnegie officer and staff compensation policies; supporting the global perspective at Carnegie with hiring practices.

Subjects

• Carnegie Corporation of New York.
• Interviews.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Shuman, D. Ellen--Interviews.
• Weiss, Thomas G. (Thomas George), 1946- interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr

Access Conditions

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