Abstract
IN a leading article on “Realistic Social Studies” in NATURE of January 22, incidental reference was made to the London School of Economics and it was stated “that responsible bodies which administer funds for research... have refused to renew temporary grants such as the Rockefeller subsidy to the London School”. We are informed that the facts with regard to the Rockefeller Foundation are as follows: “During the past three years, four temporary grants from the Foundation to the School have been in force. Two of these for the purpose of site extension and library development still remain available; a third, providing funds for research, terminated in 1935 and was then renewed on a somewhat different basis for a five-year period ; the fourth grant, providing facilities for post-graduate teaching and research, does not expire until the end of the current academic year. No formal application has yet been made by the School for the renewal of this grant: hence, no action has yet been taken. If the editorial of January 22 seems to imply that there has been any criticism offered or expressed by ‘responsible bodies which administer funds for research’ such an implication does not exist. In point of fact, no criticism as to the teaching and research in economics under way at the London School has ever been made on the part of any Foundations which have assisted it in the past and assist it now.“ The context of our comment made it clear that it referred to the grant which terminated in 1935, and that it had no relevance to any allocations for the purchase of books, for site extension or for post-graduate instruction. We were in receipt of full information concerning the “somewhat different basis” on which the grant was renewed. If, as we understand, the previous annual grant which terminated in 1935 was replaced by a reduced and tapering allocation, there seems little ground for objection to the statement published in our editorial. The main purpose of the article was to urge that the new Institute of Economic and Social Research should “tackle the fundamental problems arising from the way in which expanding technical resources react upon, and are used by, existing social institutions” ; and the purpose will have been served if the article leads to the extension of social research in these directions. With Prof. Carr-Saunders as the new director of the School it may confidently be expected that increased encouragement will be given to such studies.
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The London School of Economics. Nature 141, 277 (1938). https://doi.org/10.1038/141277b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/141277b0