January 14, 1999 | Read Time: 4 minutes
A leadership transition is under way at three of the nation’s largest grant-making institutions
Major changes in leadership are taking place at three of the nation’s largest foundations:
* The $4-billion John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation selected a university leader and human-rights activist as its new president. Jonathan F. Fanton, president of the New School for Social Research, in New York, will become MacArthur’s new chief in September 1999.
* Michael O’Keefe will leave the $1.8-billion McKnight Foundation, in Minneapolis, early next year after serving a decade as its chief executive. He has not yet decided what he will do next.
* Deborah Leff is departing the $850-million Joyce Foundation, in Chicago, to become head of Second Harvest, the national organization that collects food and other supplies for its 188 member food banks nationwide.
Although many rumors had been spread that Hillary Rodham Clinton would be the next person to lead MacArthur — even making the pages of a couple national publications — the selection of Mr. Fanton is not surprising, some philanthropy leaders say. Indeed, the last three people who served as head of MacArthur had previously been university presidents. Mr. Fanton’s predecessor, Adele Smith Simmons, was president of Hampshire College before she came to MacArthur. Ms. Simmons announced in May that she would leave the foundation in September after serving a decade at its helm. (The Chronicle, May 21, 1998).
After stepping down in 1999, Ms. Simmons will take a year-long sabbatical, financed by MacArthur, to pursue her own interests.
Under Ms. Simmons’s leadership, the foundation — which is one of the 10 largest in the country — reorganized its grant-making programs:
* The Program on Human and Community Development supports work in the United States dealing with economics, education, youth, and community and human development.
* The Program on Global Security and Sustainability focuses on arms proliferation, the environment, population, and human rights.
John E. Corbally, MacArthur’s chairman, said that Mr. Fanton, 55, was selected in part because he was “perfectly matched” to the foundation’s mission and its current stage of development.
“He has demonstrated a deep concern for the healthy development of communities and individuals, particularly in America’s cities, which is an enduring focus of this foundation,” Mr. Corbally said, in announcing the selection. “A long-time leader in human rights, he has experience with many of the global issues that are a focus of MacArthur’s work.”
Mr. Fanton, who is also chairman of Human Rights Watch and a trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, said he had considered working as a foundation president in the past, but only the MacArthur Foundation matched his interests.
McKnight’s Mr. O’Keefe, 58, said he did not have plans to retire, and is looking for new work.
“I’m ready for new challenges,” he said. He added that he also hoped to continue serving on the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, and to devote more time to his work with the Aspen Institute, where he has been co-chairman of the education program since 1987.
Under Mr. O’Keefe’s leadership, the McKnight Foundation created its first environmental grant-making program, which aims to protect the Mississippi River and promotes development of clean, renewable energy. It is also the foundation’s first major grant-making effort outside of Minnesota.
McKnight also expanded its support of arts groups throughout Minnesota, and created a $20-million grant program to help charities that provide job training to welfare recipients.
Joyce’s Ms. Leff, 47, will become the fourth chief executive of Second Harvest in February. She replaces Christine Vladimiroff, a Benedictine nun, who left in July to return to her order, in Erie, Pa. (The Chronicle, June 18, 1998).
Ms. Leff said that a top challenge would be to double the amount of food that Second Harvest receives at a time when companies in the food industry are streamlining their production methods so that they have fewer extra or damaged goods to donate.
Another priority for Ms. Leff, a former producer of ABC News’s Nightline program, is to raise Second Harvest’s visibility. As she has started talking with people about her new job, Ms. Leff said she was surprised that several people have asked her, “Second Harvest? What’s that?”
She said she had expected the charity to be better known, since it is one of the nation’s largest. It ranked No. 8 on The Chronicle’s Philanthropy 400 listing of the charities that raise the most money in America. Second Harvest took in more than $400-million in cash and products in 1997 and distributes food and goods to 26 million Americans each year.
Under Ms. Leff’s leadership, the Joyce Foundation began making grants to organizations that try to prevent gun violence and that work to change the nation’s political campaign-finance system. It also carried out a special project to increase the number of children in Chicago who receive vaccinations.
A search committee has been appointed at Joyce to select a new leader, and one is being formed at McKnight.
