Hauser Center to be based at the Kennedy School of Government

While society increasingly turns to the nonprofit sector to address problems that government and for-profit institutions have found hard to solve, nonprofit organizations -- taken as a whole -- have historically received little concentrated attention from universities.

With a new multidisciplinary, University-wide center for teaching and research on nonprofit institutions, Harvard will address issues such as the transfer of government functions to nonprofits, collaboration between corporations and nonprofits, the training of nonprofits' managers, and tax laws favoring nonprofits.

The Center is named for Rita E. Hauser, L '58, and Gustave M. Hauser, JD '53, whose recent $10 million gift established the Center.

"The launching of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Institutions marks an important stride forward for Harvard as a whole," said President Neil L. Rudenstine. "The Center will expand and integrate the array of University resources that can help increase our understanding of nonprofit organizations. It will strengthen educational opportunities for people who lead them. It will bring together scholars, practitioners, and students from different disciplines and perspectives, and stimulate all of us to think more imaginatively about how nonprofits can best serve the common good."

Rudenstine added: "We have recently begun to move ahead strongly in this field, particularly at the Business School with the Initiative on Social Enterprise. Rita and Gus Hauser have now given us an extraordinary opportunity to carry our efforts to a new level, with great momentum and an even broader institutional vision. For that opportunity and for the Hausers' exceptional generosity and commitment, we are immensely grateful."

Involving faculty and students from across University

Based at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the Center intends to draw on the strengths and perspectives of many of the Schools -- for example, the Kennedy School on the transfer of functions from government to nonprofits, the Business School on the relationship between corporations and nonprofits, the School of Public Health on nonprofits' delivery of health services in developing countries, and the Law School on tax legislation, among others.

Harvard will sponsor research, graduate and undergraduate courses, executive education programs, conferences, and symposia on nonprofit policy and management. The Hauser Center's scope will include nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating worldwide as well as American-based institutions.

As an international leader in research and teaching on many of society's most pressing issues, the Kennedy School is particularly well suited to lead this University-wide initiative. Its record of affording visibility to significant issues such as welfare reform, community policing, and the denuclearization of the former Soviet Union portends progress on issues relating to nonprofits.

Since 1993, the Nonprofit Policy and Leadership Program at the Kennedy School has developed curricula, a series of teaching cases, and executive education opportunities related to the nonprofit sector. Its activities will be incorporated into the Hauser Center.

Until a director is appointed, Mark H. Moore, the Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Professor of Criminal Justice Policy and Management, will be the Hauser Center's faculty chair, leading faculty in shaping the agenda for research and curricula.

Numerous efforts focusing on nonprofits

The establishment of the Hauser Center represents a major step in Harvard University's multiple undertakings relating to the nonprofit sector. The Initiative on Social Enterprise, based at Harvard Business School, educates leaders of nonprofits on effective management practices and educates M.B.A. students and alumni to deal effectively as business leaders with nonprofits and the community. Funded by a $10 million gift from John C. Whitehead, MBA '47, the Initiative focuses on strategic management of

nonprofits, board governance, and the relationship between corporations and communities.

The Initiative and the Hauser Center will collaborate in bringing together faculty from across the University to examine nonprofit institutions and the environment in which they operate, and prepare Harvard students and alumni for involvement with these organizations.

"I'm delighted at Rita and Gus's generous gift," said John Whitehead, whose experience serving on numerous nonprofit boards prompted him to support the Initiative on Social Enterprise. "Now that the Business School's program is well launched, the Hauser Center will enhance Harvard's efforts in this area."

Also, the William Henry Bloomberg Professorship, a University-wide chair on philanthropy, was established recently with a gift from Michael Bloomberg, who graduated from the Business School in 1966.

And faculty from the Business School, Graduate School of Education, and the Kennedy School have been collaborating on curriculum development for executive education programs.

Students, alumni involved in nonprofits

Harvard students and alumni are increasingly interested and involved in a range of nonprofit activities.

Seventy percent of undergraduates participated in public service activities (such as volunteering in homeless shelters and organizing tutorials for inner-city elementary schools) in 1996, compared with 56 percent in 1986.

In a recent survey of Harvard alumni, 30 percent of respondents reported involvement on the board of a nonprofit organization.

Approximately 25 percent of Kennedy School graduates go into nonprofit management positions.

Approximately 81 percent of Harvard Business School graduates are involved in nonprofit organizations and 57 percent are board members of nonprofits.

The Law School sees between 5 and 10 percent of its graduates go into public interest jobs after graduation.

Of course, alumni of the Harvard Divinity School, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Harvard Medical School, and the Harvard School of Public Health are largely involved in the nonprofit sector.

Conference identified issues for focus

Earlier this week, Harvard University and the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management convened a two-day conference, "Nonprofit Institutions in the Next Millennium," at the Kennedy School to inaugurate the Hauser Center and set directions for its future. Participants included a select group of CEOs of major nonprofits and foundations, and leading researchers, including Harvard faculty.

Attendees learned that there are more than 1.4 million nonprofit organizations operating in the United States, including social clubs, business associations, labor unions, religious congregations, foundations, hospitals and medical research facilities, educational institutions, cultural institutions, social service agencies, and advocacy groups.

The nonprofit sector's expenditures totaled $392 billion in 1992, representing approximately 6.5 percent of the U.S. gross national product.

Rudenstine commented: "As the oldest nonprofit organization in the United States and the first to benefit from a distinctly American form of philanthropy, Harvard is particularly interested in using its multiple resources to serve society by advancing knowledge about -- and thus strengthening -- nonprofit institutions."