Oral history interview with Geraldine Mannion, 1999

Biographical Note

Foundation executive

Scope and Contents

Early life: born Ireland, childhood Bronx, New York; education: Catholic schools, undergraduate and graduate at Fordham University; employment as secretary at Rockefeller Foundation: lack of diversity in foundation leadership, description of duties; employment at Ford Foundation; move to Carnegie Corporation of New York [Carnegie]; differences in management styles between foundations; incidence of grant failure at foundations; role of foundation president's personal interests in allocation of funding; importance of risk taking for Carnegie; foundations' reluctance to attract public attention; diversification of legal defense fund sources; development of Avoiding Nuclear War program; reluctance of other Carnegie officials to engage in discretionary grant-making; oversight of Carnegie democracy programs; importance of civic education

Subjects

• Carnegie Corporation of New York.
• Endowments--Management.
• Ford Foundation.
• Interviews.
• Mannion, Geraldine, 1955---Interviews.
• Nuclear nonproliferation.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Rockefeller Foundation.
• Women executives--Interviews.
• Zane, Sharon, interviewer.

Access Conditions

Copyright held by The Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2005