Rockefeller University

From 2000 to 2023, Rockefeller University received $2.15 billion from government sources. ²

Background

Rockefeller University is a biomedical research university that fosters scientific researchers from around the world. It is based in New York City. It purports to direct its research toward a single purpose: “the benefit of humanity.” ¹

As of 2025, the University had 20 labs dedicated to chemical and structural biology; 20 labs dedicated to genetics and genomics; 20 labs dedicated to immunology, virology, and microbiology; 15 labs dedicated to medical sciences, systems physiology, and human genetics; 37 labs dedicated to molecular and cell biology; 33 labs dedicated to neurosciences and behavior; six labs dedicated to organismal biology and evolution; 13 labs dedicated to physical, mathematical, and computational biology; and 17 labs dedicated to stem cells, development, regeneration, and aging. ³

Rockefeller University is involved in various collaborative projects with other research and educational institutions. Its Tri-Institutional collaborative encompasses several biomedical centers in New York and elsewhere. The Sloan-Kettering Institute was an initial partner of the Tri-Institutional Program. The University makes available the Rockefeller University Hospital, a standalone organization, as a data resource for Tri-Institutional members. The University also has several “Interdisciplinary Centers” which combine efforts with other science centers in researching specific illnesses and organs. Its Office of Technology Transfer creates “commercial opportunities” to produce innovative technological breakthroughs out of the discoveries made by Rockefeller researchers. ^{4 5 6 7}

History

Rockefeller University was incorporated in 1901 as “the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research” after one of John D. Rockefeller Sr.’s grandsons died of scarlet fever. Rockefeller had already considered creating a research center with his advisor Frederick T. Gates and his son John D. Rockefeller Jr. The Institute aimed to model itself on the Koch and Pasteur Institutes in Europe by researching diseases that were raging throughout the world at the time, such as tuberculosis, diphtheria, and typhoid fever. ^{8 9 7}

In 1910, the Rockefeller network established the Rockefeller Institute Hospital, now known as Rockefeller University Hospital. Initial scholars at the hospital researched polio, heart disease, and diabetes. In 1913, Oswald T. Avery was hired by the hospital to study viral strains, leading to the first vaccine for pneumococcal pneumonia. This incidentally triggered a breakthrough discovery in 1944, accomplished in tandem with his colleagues Colin M. MacLeod and Maclyn McCarthy, that DNA transmits hereditary information. ⁷

In 1955, the Rockefeller Institute grew to include an educational component and enrolled its first cohort of graduate students. It issued its first doctoral degrees in 1959. In 1965, the Rockefeller Institute was renamed “the Rockefeller University.” In 1972, the University began a collaboration with Cornell University to start a M.D.-Ph.D. program for its students. As of 2025, the Rockefeller University had granted over 1,000 Ph.D. degrees. ⁷

Controversies

Eugenics

The Rockefeller Foundation provided grants to and employed French biologist Alexis Carrel at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now known as Rockefeller University). While working at the Institute, Carrel wrote his bestselling book Man, the Unknown (1935) which promoted the eugenics movement, suggested the use of toxic gas to euthanize criminals, and in a later edition, endorsed early Nazi regime programs engaging in “suppression” of the “defective.” ¹⁰

Population Council

In 1952, John D. Rockefeller III launched the population control advocacy group known as the Population Council with about $250,000 from his personal fortune after struggling to convince the Rockefeller Foundation board to fund birth-control efforts overseas. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund also initially declined to offer help. According to one estimate, Rockefeller III provided $1 million within the first year of its operations. Despite a lack of help from Rockefeller institutions, Rockefeller Brothers Fund trustee and Rockefeller University president Detlev Bronk was a founding Council board member. ^{11 12 13 14}

Financials

In 2023, Rockefeller University reported revenues of $501 million, total expenses of $571 million, and net assets of $2.54 billion. ¹⁵

Funding

From 2000 to 2023, Rockefeller University received $2.15 billion from government sources. ²

An itemized list of Rockefeller University’s annual government-grant amounts is available below:

From 2015 and 2023, Rockefeller University received a total of $2.75 million in grants from the Chase and Stephanie Coleman Foundation. ^{16 17 18 19 20 21}

In 2018, Rockefeller University received a total of $163,500 earmarked for “education” from the National Philanthropic Trust. ²²

In 2019, Rockefeller University received a grant of $197,300 earmarked for “education” from the National Philanthropic Trust. ²³

In 2019, Rockefeller University received two grants worth a total of $416,667 from the Kavli Foundation earmarked for the Kavli Neural Systems Institute, which Rockefeller University houses. ²⁴

As of 2020, Rockefeller University had raised $8 million for its newly established Julian Robertson Professorship, crediting Lee and Elizabeth Ainslie, Chase and Stephanie Coleman, Andreas and Diane Halvorsen, and Stephen and Susan Mandel for each contributing more than $1 million. ²⁵

In 2021, Rockefeller University held an “Honoring Pfizer” initiative in honor of the pharmaceutical company. Pfizer contributed over $250,000 to the initiative. ²⁶

In 2023, Rockefeller University received $1.13 million from Donor Advised Charitable Giving, a donor-advised fund (DAF) provider formerly known as the Schwab Charitable Fund. That year, the University reportedly received $110 million in government grants. ^{27 28}