Atlantic Philanthropies Oral History - Incite at Columbia University

Completed Project

Atlantic Philanthropies Oral History

  • Led by Columbia Oral History
  • Team
    • Amy Starecheski
    • Mary Marshall Clark Principal Investigator
    • Myron Farber
    • Steven Rowland
    • Ronald Grele
    • Lance Thurner
    • Peter Bearman
    • Jonathon Tyrrel Fairhead
    • Caitlin Bertin-Mahieux
    • George Gavrilis
  • Funding Atlantic Philanthropies
  • Timeframe 2005–2017
  • Contact Rare and Manuscript Collections

The Oral History Research Office at Columbia University created the Atlantic Philanthropies Oral History Project in 2005. From 2005 to 2008, researchers interviewed Chuck Feeney, institutional partners, and grantees to document his life and business philosophy, gathering 560 hours of testimony with 138 unique narrators in what became known as Phase I.

In January 2014, the Columbia Center for Oral History Research was awarded a grant from the Atlantic Philanthropies to conduct Phase II, providing a lasting and comprehensive record of the altruistic initiatives of the Atlantic Philanthropies and Mr. Charles F. (Chuck) Feeney, founding chairman. Phase II picked up where Phase I left off in 2008, tracing the changes in Atlantic's giving across new program areas and with new institutions and partners, with particular emphasis on how accelerated impact could be leveraged globally in its final phases of grantmaking. 

The focus shifted toward the impact of Atlantic's work, with greater emphasis on analytical questions and framing and less on individual personalities and leaders—with the exception of a consistent focus on Feeney's legacy on both individuals and institutions. 

Phase II also covered the difficulties of engineering a spend-down plan, an inevitable part of the dynamics created by closing down the foundation. This phase ran from June 2014 to December 2016, with the interviewing team completing 142 oral history sessions with 84 narrators totaling 220 recorded hours.

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