The Foundation Administrator: A Study of Those Who Manage America's Foundations

Chapter 3. Preparation, Recruitment, and Retirement of Staff

3 Preparation, Recruitment, and Retirement of Staff As with other aspects of foundation personnel administration, there is a wide variety of practice relating to preparation and recruitment of candidates for service with foundations. These differences reflect the variation in the type of foundation-its asset size, the kind of program it supports, and even the degree to which it has already accepted the idea of a paid staff. Among foundation heads and personnel officers opinion also varies considerably on the personal qualities to be sought in a candidate, on the educational and professional background the candidate should possess, and on whether or not a candidate ought to undergo formal training in foundation or philanthropic administration. Similarly, when it comes to selecting the actual person for a job and persuading him to accept it, procedure varies so much that analysis and generalization are quite difficult and often impossible. Only in the matter of retirement from foundation employment is there some degree of uniformity. Educational Backgrounds The study's data suggest that the formal preparation of those who enter foundation service displays a variety only equalled by the diversity of their professional and occupational backgrounds. The largest number of respondents (29 percent) have a doctoral degree (Ph.D. or equivalent). The next most frequently cited degree is the baccalaureate, the highest degree of 28 percent of respondents. A master of arts degree, a master of business administration , or a master of public administration is the highest degree for 55 56 / The Foundation Administrator just under 22 percent. Approximately 12 percent cite a law degree as their highest, and more than 6 percent of the respondents either have had no college background or have left college without taking a degree. This figure is supported by the reporting foundations, fifty-nine of which state that they employ at least one major staff person without a degree. One and one-half percent of the study's respondents are trained as doctors of medicine. Listings of the highest degrees and fields of study of respondents, divided as to managerially advanced foundations and other foundations, appear in the following table. Table 23. Distribution of Highest Degrees Among Staff of Managerially Advanced Foundations and of Other Foundations Managerially Advanced Other Degree Foundations Foundations Ph.D. 96 (34.5%) 24 (18.1%) B.A. 66 (23.7%) 50 (37.7%) M.A. 46 (16.5%) 20 (15.1 %) Law Degree 33 (11.9%) 16 (12.1%) M.B.A., M.D., M.P.A. and other 23 (8.4%) 10 (8.0%) None 14 (5.0%) 12 (9.0%) Total 278 (100.0%) 132 (100.0%) Not unexpectedly, there is a higher percentage of people in the less advanced foundations for whom the B.A. is the top degree, whereas the major foundations have almost twice the percentage of Ph.D.'s. Among the degree-holders, as shown in Table 24, the social and behavioral sciences are the most popular fields of specialization. Other fields in order of importance are humanities, law, physical and biological sciences, and business. In foundations of all types, there are more social and behavioral scientists than people from any other field, and these disciplines are especially well represented in the managerially advanced foundations. In the less advanced foundations, by contrast, the percentage of people with backgrounds in business studies is almost three times that of the advanced foundations. Previous Professional Experience The variety of professional and occupational backgrounds cited by foundation staff participating in the study may come as a surprise to Preparation, Recruitment, and Retirement of Staff / 57 Table 24. Fields in which Respondents to Career Questionnaire Have Obtained Their Degrees Fi(!ld Percentage Respondents Social and behavioral sciences Humanities Law Physical and biological sciences Business administration No field indicated Other Total 41.9 13.3 12.0 11.6 10.0 7.6 3.6 100.0 Table 25. Distribution of Academic Fields among Staff of Managerially Advanced and of Other Foundations Managerially Advanc(!d Other Foundations Foundations Field Percent Percent Social and behavioral sciences 47.0 31.4 Humanities 13.0 13.9 Law 11.9 12.4 Physical and biological sciences 11.2 12.4 Business 6.7 16.8 No answer 6.7 9.5 Other 3.5 3.6 Total 100.0 100.0 some observers of the foundation scene. Few enter foundation work directly upon leaving a college or university. The actual figure probably is...