Friday, March 26, 2021 – Learn about the campus so close to us and the research performed there

By admin

FRIDAY, MARCH  26, 2021

The

321st  Edition

From Our Archives

THE ROCKEFELLER

UNIVERSITY

STEPHEN BLANK

SEE BELOW FOR SEASONAL JOBS AT FDR FOUR FREEDOMS PARK

Rockefeller University
Stephen Blank

I admit it. I think the new structure across the river looks like a 1950s bus station. Or a train. But behind it lies one of the most interesting institutions in New York City, Rockefeller University. So, a quick tour of our neighbor over the river.

Rockefeller University began as The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. The Institute was founded in 1901 by John D. Rockefeller in collaboration with his only son, John D. Rockefeller Jr. “Junior” as he was known, and Junior’s youngest son, David, had much to do with the institution over the years. So, more about them later.

After his grandson died from scarlet fever in January 1901, Rockefeller Senior formalized plans to establish the research center he had discussed with his adviser Frederick Gates and Rockefeller Junior. Infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, and typhoid fever were seen as the greatest threats to human health. New research centers in Europe were successfully applying laboratory science to learn more about them. “…it seemed to me,” Gates later wrote, “an institute of medical research ought to be established in the United States. And here was an opportunity for Mr. Rockefeller to do an immense service to his country and perhaps the world.” The Institute was the first institution in the United States devoted solely to biomedical research and to understand the underlying causes of diseases.

The Institute was one of the first of the Rockefellers’ great philanthropic foundations. With it, they sought to “attack misery through the weapon of research.” “Don’t be in a hurry to produce anything practical,” Junior advised its staff. “If you don’t, the next fellow will. You, here, explore and dream.”

In 1954 the institute assumed the status of a graduate university and in 1965 it was named the Rockefeller University.

The Institute housed many discoveries. One example: The research of one Institute leader, Oswald Avery, led to the development of the first vaccine for pneumococcal pneumonia, but it also led him and colleagues to make an unexpected discovery in 1944 – that DNA is the substance that transmits hereditary information, a finding that would set the course for biological research for the rest of the century.

Today, approximately 250 graduate students are enrolled in the program, offering doctoral degrees in biomedical sciences, chemistry, and biophysics. Laboratory research is the primary focus and students can meet degree requirements by participating in any combination of courses. In partnership with neighboring Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, Rockefeller participates in the Tri-Institutional MD–PhD Program as well as a Tri-Institutional chemical biology Ph.D. program.

It’s one special place. Among its 82 member faculty are 37 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine, 7 Lasker Award recipients, and 5 Nobel laureates. Most impressive, as of October 2020, 38 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Rockefeller University.

John D. and father. (Rockefeller Archives)

The Rockefeller Family and Philanthropy

J.D. Senior’s interest in philanthropy came later in his life, but Junior’s philanthropic commitment arrived earlier.  Junior resigned from positions in Standard Oil and U.S. Steel in 1910 at 36 to try to “purify” his ongoing philanthropy from commercial and financial interests. From then on, he (and his children) devoted much of their lives (and fortunes) to philanthropic activities. This commitment was deepened in the wake of the “Ludlow Massacre” that occurred in a violent clash between miners and mine owners (of which Junior owned a controlling interest) occurred at a tent camp occupied by striking miners. At least 20 men, women, and children died in the slaughter. Junior – and the Rockefellers in all – were much vilified as a result and Junior struggled, successfully it is largely agreed, to shed this burden and to help right some of the wrongs in the clash. 

Junior remained involved in various financial activities – including taking a leading role in the creation of Rockefeller Center – but these were overshadowed by his philanthropy. In just the area of culture and art, he played a leading role in the creation of the Museum of Modern Art (founded by his wife), the Met’s Cloisters and Colonial Williamsburg. He took a leading role in the restoration of major buildings in France after World War I, such as the Reims Cathedral, the Château de Fontainebleau and the Château de Versailles. He also liberally funded the notable early excavations at Luxor. He was a founder of the Asia Society and sponsored the creation of The Council on Foreign Relations. 

Junior treated his children as frugally as he had experienced. (It’s said that he was forced to wear his older sisters’ hand-me-downs as a young person.) His children were not permitted to spend their entire allowances. One third had to be donated and one third saved, and all expenses had to be recorded. (In Preston Sturges’ wonderful Palm Beach Story, Rudy Vallee plays a Rockefeller duplicate and records every expenditure – mainly a wardrobe for Claudette Colbert – in his little notebook.)

Rockefeller University Campus
The campus looked to me like many other in the Northeast, with older buildings, graceful trees and well-kept lawns. Much was done in 1958 to mark the transition to a public university. The aim, the University said was “to create an academic oasis in the city.” This is the campus we know (at least until the recent construction), and this is how the University described it: “The fourteen-acre campus, located in Manhattan along the East River opposite Roosevelt Island, is perched upon two broad terraces. The upper terrace adjacent to York Avenue is a leafy mall with Modernist buildings designed by architect Wallace K. Harrison, while the lower terrace includes the campus’s older neoclassical buildings… (the aim) was to revitalize the campus core, integrating the historic campus into this new design.”

Founder’s Hall was the first building built on the campus between 1903 and 1906 and is still being used for university offices. A steel-framed five story building, its exterior is finished in gray brick with limestone trim. It has Classical Revival styling, with broad pilasters separating groups of window bays, and an entrance with a portico supported by Ionic columns. The Caspary Auditorium, a 40-foot-high, 90-foot round geodesic dome, was erected in 1957 and hosts a variety of concert series and lectures – including the weekly lunchtime concert series that many of us attend regularly.

Scandal
It’s New York City and no institution is without some shame in the closet. In this case, Dr. Reginald Archibald, an endocrinologist at the university from 1948 to 1982, allegedly abused dozens or hundreds of boys during his time at the University while studying growth problems in children, including molestation and photographing them naked. Officials at Rockefeller University knew of the legitimacy of the claims for years before notifying the public. The university and hospital issued a statement confirming that Archibald had “engaged in certain inappropriate conduct during patient examinations” and that they “deeply regret[ted]” any “pain and suffering” the former patients felt. This led New York State to pass a law (the Child Victims Act) which created a one-year window for civil suits brought by former child victims, allowing them to make cases against the university.

Stavros Niarchos Foundation–David Rockefeller River Campus
The completion of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation–David Rockefeller River Campus in 2019, built along the East River over FDR Drive, added two acres to Rockefeller’s footprint. The new campus adds four buildings, expansive laboratory space, new landscaping, and inspiring East River views to Rockefeller University’s existing 14-acre campus. The University achieved this feat by using Rockefeller’s air rights over the FDR Drive and constructing the Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Research Building, the centerpiece of the new campus, above the Drive.

Construction involved highly sophisticated engineering, off-site fabrication, and hair-raising acrobatics. During the summer of 2016, 19 prefabricated steel-framed modules, each unique and weighing up to 800 tons, were lifted from a river barge out over the roadway onto already placed columns and foundations.

And the interior, we are told, is terrific. Floor-to-ceiling glass gives the scientists a view of the East River’s constantly changing surface and reflections, and, because the ceiling heights step up from 8 feet at the west to 18 feet near the river, daylight penetrates deep into interior.

Granted. But to me, from Roosevelt Island, it still looks like a 1950s bus station.
Thanks for reading.
Stephen Blank
RIHS March 19, 2021

FRIDAY PHOTOS OF THE DAY

SEND YOUR SUBMISSION TO:
ROOSEVELTISLANDHISTORY@GMAIL.COM

THURSDAY  PHOTO  OF THE DAY

YOUNG FLOWERING TREES ON EASTERN PROMENADE
BY CORNELL TECH

HARA REISER, VERN ARWOOD, GLORIA HERMAN, JAY JACOBSON & VICKI FEINMEL GOT IT RIGHT.

EDITORIAL
When the pandemic ends you will once again be able to visit the campus during OPEN HOUSE NEW YORK WEEKEND (hopefully) and walk around the campus and the great new dining area overlooking some island.

Four Freedoms State Park is now hiring Seasonal Park Recreation Aides. This is an hourly, 40-hour per week position.

https://statejobs.ny.gov/public/vacancyDetailsView.cfm?id=84944

StateJobsNY – Public Information: Review Vacancy Duties Description • Under the direction of higher-level park operations staff, the Seasonal employee is responsible for general facility maintenance, customer service functions, and programming support; • Employee maintains the park to ensure a clean and safe environment, including use of a variety of hand and power-driven mechanical equipment such as mowers, blowers, and line trimmers; statejobs.ny.gov Minimum Qualifications: One-year experience in grounds keeping, customer service, or park operations. Operational needs: Applicant must be physically able to perform medium to heavy physical labor; Ability to effectively communicate with park patrons and partners; Applicants may be required to have and maintain a valid U.S. drivers license; Employees must be able to operate and perform routine maintenance on a variety of power-driven mechanical equipment including trucks, mowers, line trimmers;

Rate: $15 per hour
Please submit your resume and application to NYCVacancies@parks.ny.gov using the subject line “Seasonal Employment 2021”
. Please indicate your preferred work location in your email and on your application i.e. Four Freedoms State Park
Contact Information Personnel
212-866-3578
NYCVacancies@parks.ny.gov 163 West 125th Street, 17th Floor New York, NY 10027

Text by Judith Berdy
Thanks to Bobbie Slonevsky for her dedication to Blackwell’s Almanac and the RIHS
Thanks to Deborah Dorff for maintaining our website
Edited by  Deborah Dorff
Roosevelt Island Historical Society

Wikipedia
Rockefeller Archives
TCLF.org
NY Times

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