Seeds of modern education: American influence in Turkey

MAP Education and Humanities (MAPEH) is a scholarly peer-reviewed international scientific journal published by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing, focusing on empirical and theoretical research in all fields of education and humanities. E-ISSN: 2744-2373 mapub.org/mapeh EducationEducation and HumanitiesHumanities Volume 5 SeedS of Modern education: aMerican influence in turkey REVIEW PAPER Hrustan Šišić1 1 International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Hrustan Šišić, International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT American private foundations invested huge financial resources in institutions and individuals in the Republic of Turkey in the process of westernization of the country. Due to the war-torn state and poor socio-economic situation, the modernization process in Turkey implied comprehensive help from the Western countries, which Ataturk took as a model. Based on charity and humanitarian work, first American organizations arrived in Turkey at the beginning of 19th century. Popularly known as ‘‘missionary organizations’’ or simply ‘‘missionaries’’, they devoted their work to religious conversion of dominantly Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire, charity activities and education. From the period of the first arrivals until 1920s, missionary organizations established number of hospitals and schools that proved beneficial to people and students across Turkey. Led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the new government of Turkey was dedicated to the process of modernization of the country – a project that seriously needed support from the external powers. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the role of American private foundations in the process of development of education, health sector, and overall Turkey’s modernization. These findings suggest that American private organizations such as Rockefeller and Ford foundations had a strong hold in the development of institutions and education and training of individuals from Turkey in various fields. Therefore, this study seeks to present a detailed historical perspective of the activities of American philanthropic foundations and their influence on the development and the process of modernization of Turkey. Keywords: Modern education, influence, America, Turkey oPen acceSS ARTICLE © The Author(s). Open Access Article Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. MAP EducAtion And HuMAnitiEs Volume 5 ISSN: 2744-2373/ © The Authors. Published by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing. Article Submitted: 05 June 2024 Article Accepted: 29 July 2024 Article Published: 30 July 2024 Publisher’s Note: MAP stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 MAP EducAtion And HuMAnitiEs Volume 5 Šišić H. (2024). Seeds of Modern Education: American Influence in Turkey. MAP Education and Humanities, 5, 51-60. doi: https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 HOW TO CITE THIS ARTICLE EducationEducation and HumanitiesHumanities by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing SeedS of Modern education: aMerican influence in turkey Hrustan Šišić https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 Available Online on https://mapub.org/mapeh/5/seeds-of-modern-education-american-influence-in-turkey/ Page 52 Introduction Based on charity and humanitarian work, first American organizations arrived in Turkey at the beginning of 19th century. Popularly known as ‘missionary organizations’ or simply ‘missionaries’, they devoted their work to charity activities and education predominantly among Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire at that time, but in fact, the main activities of these organizations were based on religious work, namely religious conversion. From the period of the first arrivals until 1920s, missionary organizations established number of hospitals and schools that proved beneficial to people and students across Turkey. At the beginning of 20th century new form of philanthropic work with a principal focus on support to science emerged in the United States. Some of the American richest industrialists and businessmen in that period like Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller and Russell Sage have decided to establish private grant-providing foundations for the melioration of life standards of humankind all around the world – investing dominantly in education, infrastructure and public health. Rockefeller foundation established in 1913 with an aim of investing in public health in the United States and abroad, soon emerged as the leading philanthropic organization that operated all around the globe. In terms of time scale, growth of the foundation imbricates with the establishment of modern Turkey in 1923. Led by Kemal Ataturk, the new government of Turkey was dedicated to the process of modernization of the country – a project that seriously needed support from the external powers. Beside destroyed infrastructure that Turkey faced after series of wars in its territory, poor and exiguous health system combined with dangerous diseases spread among masses presented a real challenge for the new government. As a reaction to the crisis, the Rockefeller foundation sent its representatives to Turkey to investigate and evaluate the position of public health in the country. After group of experts proved the scarcity of health system and urgent need for reaction, the foundation decided to invest serious grants on the establishment of the Central Institute of Hygiene in Ankara in 1927 (Erdem & Rose, 2000). In the following decades the Rockefeller foundation has provided enormous grants to the medical institutions and individuals (fellowships) for the purpose of modernizing the whole system of public health in Turkey. Soon after the Second World War and under direct cooperation with the State Department, the Rockefeller foundation along with an upcoming giant among the philanthropists ‘Ford foundation’ invested serious grants in the process of Turkey’s modernization: providing significant number of fellowships to the United States, supporting educational institutions at domestic level and supporting the business and industry; Therefore, this study aims to provide the answers on the following questions: What role did Rockefeller and Ford foundations play in the process of Turkey’s modernization? Also, which role these foundations had in the U.S. foreign policy in general and Turkish-American relations in particular? To fill the gap in the literature, this study canvasses the importance of foundations for the U.S. foreign policy and background of foundations’ assistance, history of philanthropic work in Turkey, and provides data on Rockefeller and Ford’s foundation work in Turkey. The introductory section includes a brief historical overview of the first arrival of American organizations in Turkey and the development of their activities and programs in the country. In addition, this section highlights the research questions of the research. Also, it includes the significance of the study and statement of the problem that help answer the question why the researcher conducts this study. Next section includes the methodology as well as the theoretical background of the study and clarification of the concept of modernization of Turkey. The end of this part includes an analysis of previous studies with similar concepts and a discussion of the novelty of the study. The following section covers the role of the foundations in the US foreign policy and their highlighted significance during the Cold War period. Third section discusses about the Rockefeller foundation in Turkey, first arrival and support to the public health system in the country, educational programs for Turks abroad financed by the foundation, with clear numerical presentation of the foundation’ focus during the period of 1920-1980. Fourth section talks about the Ford foundation in Turkey, first arrival and the development of the foundation programs in the country. It includes a numerical presentation of the money that Ford foundation has invested in the country for the period 1952-1971. The final section consists of a conclusion and recommendations for further study. The importance and role of American private foundations in the international arena during the 20th century is underestimated and neglected in the literature. The Rockefeller and Ford foundations had very prominent programs in countries such as China, India, and Turkey. In his study, Erken analyzed the historical background of American philanthropy in Turkey in the period from 1920 to 1970. He emphasized that Turkish intellectuals, politicians, artists and foundation officials had a common vision EducationEducation and HumanitiesHumanities by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing SeedS of Modern education: aMerican influence in turkey Hrustan Šišić https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 Available Online on https://mapub.org/mapeh/5/seeds-of-modern-education-american-influence-in-turkey/ Page 53 of turning Turkey’s vision towards the West (Erken, 2018). Erdem and Rose also wrote about history of philanthropy in Turkey and development of scientific philanthropy in education, public health, and research, started by the Rockefeller Foundation after the establishment of Republic in 1923 and joined by the Ford Foundation in 1950s (Erdem & Rose, 2000). These two studies represented a strong basis for developing our research, which aims to analyze the role of the Rockefeller and Ford foundations in the process of modernization of Turkey through a topdown perspective. Moreover, our research aims to investigate the political role of the Rockefeller and Ford foundations in the Republic of Turkey with a focus on elite westernization through educational and health programs before and during the Cold War. This study seeks to explore the role that two prominent foundations have played in Washington’s policy toward this part of the world. This study is descriptive research that seeks to present a detailed historical perspective of the activities of American philanthropic foundations Rockefeller and Ford and their influence on the development and the process of modernization of Turkey. W. Lawrence Neuman defines descriptive research as ‘research whose primary purpose is to paint a picture using words or numbers and to present a profile, a classification of types, or an outline of steps to answer questions such as who, when, where, and how (Neuman, 2000). After World War II, Turkey, together with Greece, was included in a package of enormous financial aid known as the Truman Doctrine in which the United States pledged to ‘assist free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures’ (Merrill, 2006). The aid package included military and economic aid intended for countries exposed to the threats of communism and totalitarian ideologies. These two countries were admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1952. In addition to the various US government programs launched in Turkey, numerous non-governmental organizations have been active in the country. The leaders of the non-governmental sector in Turkey were the Rockefeller and Ford foundations, which invested huge financial resources in their operational activities in this country. The significance of this study is in the research and analysis of how these foundations participated in the modernization of Turkey during inter-war period and later in a defense of the country against the threats of communism in the first decades of the Cold War. Due to the position in which Turkey found itself after 1923, which was most distinguished by imitating Western countries in the field of state organization and foreign policy, it is very important for the researcher to analyze all the processes that contributed to the survival of this country in the Western bloc. This was especially true during the turbulent period of the Cold War in which Turkey was exposed to Soviet threats mainly due to its geographical position. Due to the importance of this country within the security bloc of the Western world, the United States, through its government and private programs and organizations, tried to Americanize Turkish society and contribute to improving the image of the West among the elite and the people. The Rockefeller and Ford foundations contributed the most in this process through the fields of education and health. These two fields were Turkey’s top priorities due to the poor economic situation and their improvement simultaneously meant the process of modernization of the state. For this reason, it is very important for the researcher to analyze how the foundations participated in the education of Turks, the improvement of educational institutions, and the contribution in the field of health. In the literature modernization is defined as a macroprocess of transition from traditional society to the society of modernity, leading to the appearance of modes of social life or organization which emerged in Europe from about the seventeenth century onwards and which subsequently became worldwide in their influence (Gavrov & Klyukanov, 2015). In today’s terms, modernization concept can be looked through three prisms: a) as the internal development of Western Europe and North America relating to the European New Era; b) as a process by which countries that do not belong to the first group of countries aim to catch up with them; and c) as a process of evolutionary development of the most modernized societies (Western Europe and North America) (Gavrov & Klyukanov, 2015, p. 707). Some authors define theory of modernization as Europeanization or Americanization process, meaning that there is an attitude of complacency toward Western Europe and United States because these nations are viewed as having unmatched economic prosperity and democratic stability (Tipps, 1973). A concept of modernity during the twentieth century was defined by Western ideas, outlooks, and institutions, which were contrasted against traditional ideas and structures within the society being modernized (Ekbladh, 2013). Science and technology have played a vital role in the transformation of economies and societies, which also included profound cultural, social, and political change on the part of those nations targeted by the modernization process (Ekbladh, 2013). EducationEducation and HumanitiesHumanities by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing SeedS of Modern education: aMerican influence in turkey Hrustan Šišić https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 Available Online on https://mapub.org/mapeh/5/seeds-of-modern-education-american-influence-in-turkey/ Page 54 In a historical perspective, Kemalist or republican modernization of Turkey has included process of industrialization and economic development. Also, it brought a strong emphasis on secularism over the Islamic political order in a predominantly Muslim society (Önis, 2004). In such an environment, key institutions of parliamentary democracy have been established and despite the breakdowns during the military interludes, parliamentary democracy has remained a norm for this country after its establishment (Önis, 2004). In the case of Turkey, the concept of modernization was interpreted by Turkish political elites as identical to westernization (Önis, 2004). Hence, westernization in the Turkish context meant not only commitment to economic, scientific and technological development, but also the establishment of a secular and democratic political system (Önis, 2004). Modernization in Turkey was a top-down process which brought tensions among its predominant Muslim population, but however, political elites led by strong emphasis on nationalism and secularism considered that establishment of close, organic relations with Europe and United States was a natural development (Önis, 2004). In their activities abroad American philanthropic foundations Rockefeller and Ford have been dominantly focused on elite groups in target countries, supporting projects led by qualified individuals. Such was the case with Turkey, in which significant number of individuals participated in programs launched by the Rockefeller and Ford foundations in the process of modernization or westernization of this country. Role of foundations in the U.S. foreign policy American interests in the Middle East during the entire 19th century can be characterized as dominantly based on religious and commercial activities. Commercial activities referred to the presence of American businessmen on the ground and particularly rising demand of the U.S. market for oil, while religious work related to the missionary organizations that arrived to the region for the sake of charitable work and establishment of schools and hospitals. However, the most significant activities of the missionary organizations in the early periods relate to the religious conversion of Christian minorities in the empire - since attempts for the conversion of Muslim population failed. The largest missionary organization in the United States ‘American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM)’ was established in 1810 (Khalil, 2016) with the strong beliefs in American religious superiority and exceptionality. Beside paternalistic behavior towards Christian minorities in the Ottoman Empire, it was often the case that missionaries were emphasizing their racial and religious superiority (Galal & Yasmine, 2014). However, further strengthening of missionary work in the Middle East occurred in the second half of the 19th century with the establishment of two universities on missionary goals: Robert College in Istanbul (1863) and Syrian Protestant College (established 1866 and renamed ‘American University of Beirut’ in 1920); After the World War I, board of the U.S. foreign missionaries held a set of negotiations with the British officials on establishing another university on missionary goals in the Middle East, based in Cairo. Diplomatic talks resulted in the foundation of American University in Cairo (AUC) by Dr. Charles A. Watson, an active member of the United Presbyterian Church, with an aim to establish an English-language university based on high standards of conduct and scholarship, and to contribute to the intellectual growth, discipline, and character of the future leaders of Egypt and the region (Galal & Yasmine, 2014). Especially in the first years of its functioning, the university was deeply associated with missionary organizations in Egypt and Middle East. Hence, the first AUC advertisements from 1920s include ‘triumph of Christianity over Mohammedanism’, ‘retreat of Turk’, ‘Middle East is the area where God is working most actively’, ‘donations to American University of Cairo would further God’s work’, etc. (Khalil, 2016). For several reasons (difficulty in converting people from Islam to Christianity, a growing number of Muslim students, etc.), AUC had to distance itself away from evangelical work and pursue more liberal education. Over the time graduates of American University of Cairo (AUC) and American University of Beirut (AUB) have become positioned at the important posts of British and French mandate rules, in Syria and Egypt particularly. Moreover, those universities’ graduate elites that played a pivotal role in the revolutions and overthrow of British and French colonies, and more importantly, in this way USA limited the potentiality for the new governments to join the Soviet Union during the period of Cold War. The expansion of these universities has been financially supported by traditional missionary organizations and newly established foundations on American soil. During the economic expansion of the United States the number of millionaires in the country has been steadily increasing. By 1916, there had been over 40,000 millionaires in the United States, and at least two of these millionaires, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Ford (the second having contributed much to the expanding wealth of the first), counted their fortunes in billions (Zunz, 2014). A key moment EducationEducation and HumanitiesHumanities by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing SeedS of Modern education: aMerican influence in turkey Hrustan Šišić https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 Available Online on https://mapub.org/mapeh/5/seeds-of-modern-education-american-influence-in-turkey/ Page 55 occurred at the beginning of 20th century when wealthy businessmen and industrialists decided to establish private grant-providing foundations for the purpose of improving life standards of people at home and abroad: Andrew Carnegie Foundation (established 1906), Rockefeller Foundation (established 1913), and Ford Foundation (established 1936) – popularly known as Big 3 foundations. A focus of newly established foundations was on support to science, which meant that a new form of philanthropic work emerged in the United States. Soon after the significant number of foundation universities has been established in the country, new philanthropists started to provide enormous support to American organizations abroad and particularly supported American universities in the Middle East: Robert College in Istanbul, American University in Beirut, and American University in Cairo. Position of American universities in the Middle East and foundations that have been operating across the globe began to change after the WWII and the beginning of the Cold War between Washington and Moscow. From the perspective of Washington, new foundations and universities on the ground emerged as an important player in containing the Soviet influence in the Middle East. In late 1947, the External Research Staff (ERS), as a division of the State Department Intelligence body, was established to coordinate between the State Department and universities, foundations, and research organizations (Khalil, 2016). Soon after its establishment, ERS held a meeting with the leading three foundations in the United States (Rockefeller, Ford, Carnegie) based on future cooperation. As a result, fellowship programs (for the U.S. citizens) supported by the foundations not only provided research studies to the U.S. government but invented new set of intelligence agents serving as a base of information for specific country. In case of Ford foundation, some of the fellows before leaving the United States received clear instructions from the State Department, and on the way back went through interrogation process (Khalil, 2016). Also, in the period after the WWII, the Rockefeller foundation in direct cooperation with the U.S. government often sent its representatives to different areas to evaluate the prospects for the foundation’s activities and more importantly investigate the threat coming from the Soviet Union. For instance, Rockefeller’s director for Humanities division visited the Middle East in 1950 and after detailed analysis emphasized the importance of Turkey and Iran for the Rockefeller foundation and the U.S. government. It might be concluded that the work of the strongest foundations after the Second World War fully corresponded to the American political economy since enormous private funds invested by the foundations (support to universities, fellowships, national institutions, etc.) strongly influenced the decision-making process in specific country. Most of those who had the opportunity to receive fellowship program in the United States or Europe (foundation grants) soon held important positions in government, educational institutions, business circles, etc. Rockefeller foundation in Turkey American philanthropy in Turkey dates to the beginning of 19th century and arrival of the first missionaries to the territory of the Ottoman Empire. Considering the political circumstances and the general atmosphere in the empire, missionary organizations have been dominantly focused on religious conversion of Christian minority groups. Also, their work included support to education, charity and general treatment of diseases (Trask, 1971). By the beginning of 20th century, new form of philanthropic work emerged in the United States with the establishment of private foundations that focused on scientifically approach to charity – precisely support to education, universities. One of the leading American philanthropic organizations in 1920s was ‘Rockefeller foundation’ that primarily focused on support to medical education and improvement of public health in the United States and abroad. It was established in 1913 by John D. Rockefeller, a man whose wealth emanated from successful oil business (he was the owner of Standard Oil Company) (Birn, 1996). John D. Rockefeller provided some assistance to the missionary organizations in the Ottoman Empire, and after the establishment in 1913, his foundation provided significant aid to Armenian and Greek refugees after the First World War (from today’s Turkey) (Erdem & Rose, 2000). In 1923, new government of Turkey led by Kemal Ataturk soon after establishing the republic pursued the process of the modernization of the country. Considering the destroyed infrastructure after numerous wars, project for the modernization required serious efforts from the local perspective, but also needed external grants as an impetus for the development. One of the biggest challenges for the new government was the poor condition of public health system and the spread of dangerous diseases in the country. As it was the case with the other countries in the world, Rockefeller foundation arrived in Turkey through the support for public health. Even though foundation received information on the state of health system in the country provided by Christian missionaries (agents on the ground), it also decided to send its own representatives to Turkey for the evaluation of prospects for EducationEducation and HumanitiesHumanities by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing SeedS of Modern education: aMerican influence in turkey Hrustan Šišić https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 Available Online on https://mapub.org/mapeh/5/seeds-of-modern-education-american-influence-in-turkey/ Page 56 functioning. The most significant visit of the Rockefeller’s representatives was the arrival of Dr. Ralph K. Collins to Turkey in 1926. For several months he travelled across the country obtaining information and data on public health in Turkey. It resulted in his comprehensive report on ‘Public Health in Turkey’ by the end of 1926 (Rockefeller Foundation Records, 1951). Since the report indicated on the existence of poor and exiguous system and urgent need for the aid, Rockefeller foundation has decided to act in two ways: training the individuals through the fellowship programs in the United States, and cooperating with the Ministry of Health in Ankara for the establishment of the institute with focus on public health; The first serious project after Rockefeller’s involvement in Turkey was the establishment of Central Institute of Hygiene in Ankara in 1927 (Rockefeller Foundation Records, 1951). Foundation invested $80,000 for the contribution to scientific equipments in the institute, and $200,000 for establishment of the Service School as the supplement to institute’s work. Soon in 1936, Service School was transformed to the School of Public Health and Dr. Ralph K. Collins became the first dean (Rockefeller, 1951). Under the convenient atmosphere and a new leadership number of nurses received fellowship programs across the United States. From 1920s until the beginning of the Second World War, Rockefeller foundation dominantly focused on support to public health in Turkey providing grants to institutions and providing fellowship programs for Turkish doctors and nurses. In this period, 33 out of 44 fellowship programs were in public health (Rose, 2003). One of the main obstacles of Rockefeller foundation’s fellows for accustoming to the new environment was the lack of English language proficiency. Additional classes of English language before the beginning of the studies at university were not enough for some, so they had to negotiate with the foundation on changing the universities (from Harvard to John Hopkins in case of the first fellows), or they have been sent to observe practical work in the field of public health across the United States. Furthermore, some of the obstacles for the fellows included adapting to a completely new culture, high life expenses, public transportation, size of cities, etc. However, some of the fellows in the field of public health succeeded to impress Rockefeller foundation with their performance, as it was the case with Mr. İhsan Dogramaci who received fellowship program in the United States. In 1950s, as the Head of Department for Child Health at University of Ankara he received grant for the fellowship program in the United States, where he had a chance to observe practical work in the field of pediatrics. From the side of the foundation, Dogramaci was described as someone with leadership characteristics, energy and capacity to improve the position of medical education in Turkey. From 1950s to the end of 1960s Rockefeller foundation supported programs initiated or linked to Ihsan Dogramaci with the total cost of more than $1,000 000 (Erdem & Rose, 2000). Among the most successful projects initiated by Dr. Ihsan Dogramaci is the founding of Hacettepe university and Bilkent university in Ankara. Another educational institution that has received the large grants from the Rockefeller foundation in the period after the Second World War was the Robert College in Istanbul. This educational institution had a special importance for the Rockefeller foundation and the U.S. government since it was the first university in the Middle East (together with Syrian Protestant College) established on missionary goals in the late 19th century, and moreover, it had status of the first American university outside the borders of the United States. Although Robert College has been a serious educational institution from its very establishment, however, due to various reasons, serious investments and grants to this educational institution were provided after the Second World War. As it was the case with other American universities in the Middle East, Robert College in Istanbul had an important strategic place in the process of the containment of Soviet Union during the Cold War. In the second half of the 1950s, Robert College received $350,000 from the Rockefeller foundation for training of Turkish personnel that were supposed to serve as the university staff. Also, in the same period and under cooperation with the State Department, Rockefeller foundation invested $115,000 for the education in the field of humanities – that mostly related to the understanding between East (Turkey and the countries of the Middle East) and West societies (Erdem & Rose, 2000). Regarding training of Turkish personnel at Robert College in Istanbul, Rockefeller foundation was financing doctorate studies in the United States or Britain, but as a part of the program fellows had to return to the Robert College and teach for the period of three years. Aim of those doctorate studies and all fellowship programs financially supported by Rockefeller foundation in general was to advance English language, get specialized in selected fields, gain western mindset and way of doing things, and simply to have orientation towards the West. As an overview of the entire work of the Rockefeller foundation in Turkey it might be concluded that area of public health received most of the grants from the foundation (institutions, individuals) until the Second World War, while in post-WWII EducationEducation and HumanitiesHumanities by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing SeedS of Modern education: aMerican influence in turkey Hrustan Šišić https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 Available Online on https://mapub.org/mapeh/5/seeds-of-modern-education-american-influence-in-turkey/ Page 57 period Rockefeller foundation together with another giants among philanthropists Ford foundation expanded grants to different fields in Turkey such a political science, economics, journalism, history, arts, etc. Precise data on Rockefeller foundations support to fellowship programs for Turkish citizens is shown in the tables below. Table 1. Rockefeller foundation appropriations for Turkey Program Total $* % of Total $ Number % of Total Medical Sciences 992,615 41.7 24 20.9 Arts and Humanities 792,347 33.3 59 51.3 Public Health 333,710 14.0 9 7.8 Social Sciences 139,995 5.9 19 16.5 Nursing 111,275 4.7 2 1.7 Natural Sciences 10,400 0.4 2 1.7 TOTAL 2,380,342 100 115 99.9 Note: Erdem. M. & Rose, K., W. (2000). American Philanthropy in Republican Turkey: The Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, The Turkish Yearbook, 2, 31, 137. Table 2. Major fields of study of Turkish RF fellows Field Number % of Total Public Health 42 26.7 Social Sciences 38 24.2 Medical Research & Education 37 23.6 Agricultural Sciences 24 15.3 Humanities 16 10.2 TOTAL 157 Note: Erdem. M. & Rose, K., W. (2000). American Philanthropy in Republican Turkey: The Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, The Turkish Yearbook, 2, 31, 137. Table 3. Turkish Rockefeller Foundation Fellows by decade PROGRAM 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Total Agricultural Sciences 0 0 0 0 5 13 6 24 Humanities 0 0 0 15 1 0 0 16 Medical Research & Education 42 2 22 7 0 0 37 Public Health 15 18 180 0 0 42 Social Sciences 1 4 1 17 15 0 0 38 TOTAL 20 24 462 28 13 6 157 Note: Erdem. M. & Rose, K., W. (2000). American Philanthropy in Republican Turkey: The Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, The Turkish Yearbook, 2, 31, 137. Ford Foundation in Turkey Ford Foundation was established in 1936 by Henry Ford and Edsel Ford based on serving the public welfare and helping to resolve national problems through support for institutions, communities and talented individuals in the United States (Ford Archive, 1972). However, leaders of the foundation decided to expand the foundation’s work to the international scene by the end of the Second World War particularly because of the shared fears of possible spread of communism and influence of the Soviet Union in different areas in the world. Because of its decisive stance from the beginning of the Cold War, Ford Foundation in some circles was known as ‘front for dangerous communists’, or ‘foundation that sends assassinators, spies and diversionist to Eastern Europe’ (Macdonald, 1956). Ford Foundation in its work followed classical style of philanthropy – providing grants directly to the institutions in selected countries. However, from the first periods of its establishment it supported different research programs (fellowships) in wide areas unlike the Rockefeller foundation whose work was dominantly tied to universities and more precisely to the field of medical education and public health. From 1950s Ford Foundation has launched its activities in Turkey, but however, established its first field office in 1960 (Erdem & Rose, 2000). As it was the part of foundation’s general framework it was not completely bound to support for universities (also in Turkey), but rather, Ford Foundation under direct cooperation with Turkish government invested enormous grants to different institutions dedicated to the modernization of the country. In the period between 1952 and 1962, the foundation provided $5.2 million of grants to Turkey. Some of the largest grants provided to the institutions in this period include $1,000 000 of grants to the Ministry of Education, $1,000 000 of grants to the Institute of Business Administration at the Faculty of Economics of the University of Istanbul, and $883,000 of grants provided to Robert College and American College for Girls in Istanbul (Ford Archive, 1963). General summary of the Ford foundation involvement in Turkey is presented in the tables below: EducationEducation and HumanitiesHumanities by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing SeedS of Modern education: aMerican influence in turkey Hrustan Šišić https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 Available Online on https://mapub.org/mapeh/5/seeds-of-modern-education-american-influence-in-turkey/ Page 58 Table 4. Summary of Ford Foundation Support to Turkey: 1952-1971 Science Development $6,310,124 Business and Industrial Development $3,303,380 Social Sciences $1,386,800 English language for Turks $644,550 Other grants $2,754,264 Other program and administrative expenses $1,658,255 TOTAL $16,057,373 Note: Erdem. M. & Rose, K., W. (2000). American Philanthropy in Republican Turkey: The Rockefeller and Ford Foundations, The Turkish Yearbook, 2, 31, 137. Allocation of the funds to the institutions in Turkey (Ford Foundation 1952-1971) include grants for: Ministry of Education, National Science High School Project, graduate programs in mathematics and physical sciences (Middle East Technical University, Hacettepe University, Ankara University), university technology (Middle East Technical University), business and industrial development, management education and training (Istanbul University, Turkish Management Association, support for university-level business schools), research and conferences on development problems, social sciences, English language for Turks, other foundation grants (Ford Archive, 1963). CONCLUSION At the beginning of 20th century America experienced the birth of new philanthropistsor private foundations established on the goals of scientific approach to charitable work. Foundations have been established by American richest men at that time who decided to work on the improvement of social welfare and conditions of life at home and abroad. Two of the wealthy businessmen and industrialists particularly stand out, namely John D. Rockefeller and Henry Ford. The first established the Rockefeller foundation in 1913 with dominant focus on public health and medical education, while the second established Ford foundation in 1936. Soon after the Second World War, the importance of these foundations has significantly increased since Washington regarded them as important players for the containment of the Soviet Union in critical areas of operation, like for instance the Middle East. From the beginning of the 19th century to the First World War, American involvement in the Ottoman Empire in the fields of education and science had Protestant nature (Erken, 2018)- they could operate freely because of the well-established relations with the government of the empire. Three American universities in the Middle East, Robert College in Istanbul, American University in Cairo, American University in Beirut, have been educating the elite since the 19th century. With a high standard of education and scholarships, these universities have produced political leaders and intellectuals in the Middle East region. As we stated in the research, these educational institutions were in contact with American Christian missionary organizations at the very beginning. With the advent of scientific philanthropy in America, the position of missionary organizations was taken over by philanthropic foundations led by the Rockefeller Foundation during the 1920s. However, with the abolishment of the Caliphate and collapse of the Ottoman Empire, most of American organizations and institutions went through various challenges and period of expectations for the politics of new government in Turkey and future of their work. In the period when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk declared the independence of the new Turkish republic in 1923, Rockefeller foundation had a leading position among other relatively young foundations in the territory of the United States. New government in Turkey pursued the plan for the modernization of the country but found itself in serious need of external assistance particularly in the field of public health. The most significant circumstances that facilitated the arrival of the Rockefeller foundation to Turkey have been the Ataturk’s aim to modernize country on the basis of secular state, and also quite favorable position of Americans in Turkey in comparison with other European powers in that period. As a result, with the leadership of the foundation and injection of enormous grants, first Institute of Hygiene was established in 1927 in Ankara. Project had crucial importance since it was the starting point for the development of public health system and medical education in the following years. In the period between 1925 and 1983, Rockefeller foundation financially secured more than 160 fellowship programs for Turkish citizens outside of their country, dominantly in the United States, while at the same time foundation provided grants for a number of organizations and institutions in Turkey which significantly contributed to the process of the country’s modernization. On the other side, Ford foundation, because of its strong financial background and intent for operation at international stage, soon emerged as a rival to the Rockefeller foundation. From 1950s to 1970s Ford foundation provided more than $16 EducationEducation and HumanitiesHumanities by MAP - Multidisciplinary Academic Publishing SeedS of Modern education: aMerican influence in turkey Hrustan Šišić https://doi.org/10.53880/2744-2373.2024.5.51 Available Online on https://mapub.org/mapeh/5/seeds-of-modern-education-american-influence-in-turkey/ Page 59 million of grants to various Turkish institutions and organizations. Looking together, two foundations provided enormous grants and pursued serious programs that significantly contributed to the development of different societal segments in Turkey, particularly improving the position of science and education. As aforementioned data presents, their work has been the most intensified during the period of 1950s and 1960s in which pro-American Democrat party ruled the Turkish politics on one side, and on the other side, this is the period when the United States launched the aid programs for Turkish economy and military. Moreover, this was the period of intensified Cold War, so Rockefeller and Ford foundation under direct cooperation with the U.S. government have decided to invest serious funds for the development of humanities at universities in Turkey – that had focused on interaction between eastern and western civilizations. From the perspective of Washington, new foundations and universities on the ground emerged as an essential player in containing the Soviet influence in the Middle East. They were often part of the American strategy towards certain countries or regions by offering their ideas and resources for the purpose of national interest. For instance, in the period after the WWII, the Rockefeller Foundation, in direct cooperation with the U.S. government, often sent its representatives to different areas to evaluate the prospects for the foundation’s activities and, more importantly, investigate the threat coming from the Soviet Union. For instance, Rockefeller’s director for the Humanities division visited the Middle East in 1950 and, after detailed analysis, emphasized the importance of Turkey and Iran for the Rockefeller Foundation and the U.S. government. In terms of the Westernization process of Turkey, the American Rockefeller and Ford foundations have launched many projects in the field of social sciences and arts in the country. Robert College in Istanbul, which was later renamed Bogazici University, was one of the educational institutions with the highly emphasized support of the Rockefeller and Ford foundations. By providing opportunities for the specialization in selected fields (fellowships) to Turkish citizens, foundations had a chance to shape public opinion to some extent and influence the government policies in the short period, particularly because the fellows soon after returning to Turkey occupied important posts in the government, business, educational institutions, etc. References Erken, A. 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