Rockefeller Adds $10M More to Latin American Studies Center

David Rockefeller ‘36, the donor who endowed the Center for Latin American Studies 12 years ago, will contribute an additional $10 million to the center, the University announced today.

The new gift brings Rockefeller's total contribution to $25 million, and will support the center's continuing research and teaching programs, the University said. The gift will also bolster the center's grants for students conducting research that requires travel to Latin America. And it will support grants for students with internships in Latin America, independently or through the center's internship program.

"The Center has more than fulfilled my expectations, and has played an important role in helping Harvard transform itself from a U.S. institution with an international reputation into a truly global university," Rockefeller said in a statement today. "I would like to ensure that the Center will continue to be a leader in Latin American studies far into the future."

The announcement comes three weeks after several of Harvard's other international study centers denied some students' applications for travel grants for research this summer, in the wake of an increase in applications.

The Center for Latin American Studies said the number of applications for research grants did not increase, but that applications to its internship program had doubled. The center is providing support for 128 undergraduates and 43 graduate students who are traveling to Latin America this summer, according to the center’s director, John H. Coatsworth.

University President Lawrence H. Summers, who has supported international study in his short tenure, cited the center's travel grants in a statement praising Rockefeller.

"More than 1,200 Harvard students have received grants from the Center to conduct research or take up internships and service opportunities in Latin America, supporting our goal of providing them with an international experience as part of their education," Summers said. "I am enormously grateful to David for all he has done for Harvard, and I have been honored to work with him."

Rockefeller’s latest gift comes at a time of transition for the center. Coatsworth, a historian who has directed the center since its founding in 1994, will step down at the end of next month. He will be succeeded by political scientist Merilee S. Grindle.

Rockefeller, a former chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Bank, was an honorary chair of Harvard's last University-wide capital campaign in the 1990s. He has also served as president of the Board of Overseers, Harvard's second-highest governing body.

-Staff writer Nicholas M. Ciarelli can be reached at ciarelli@fas.harvard.edu.