Guide to the Records of the Maurice Falk Medical Fund, 1960-1994

Arrangement

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
Maurice Falk Medical Fund Records
Creator
Maurice Falk Medical Fund (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
Collection Number
MSS 207
Extent
150 linear feet linear feet 206 Boxes, 1 oversize box, 5 shelf items, and 6.94 gigabytes
Date
1926-2016
Abstract
The Maurice and Laura Falk Fund, a leading grant-giving institution in the fields of economics, politics, education, medicine, and social welfare, was established in 1929 by Maurice Falk. The organization was at different times known as the Maurice Falk Medical Fund, the Maurice Falk Fund, and finally the Falk Foundation. The Foundation closed in 2014 due to financial restrictions. The Maurice Falk Medical Fund Records contain correspondence, reports, ephemeral publications, research files, and audiovisual materials documenting the administrative, financial, and grant-giving activities performed throughout the life of the organization, in addition to personal audiovisual records documenting members of the Falk family.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
The guide to this collection was written by Megan Massanelli and Stephen L. Doell.
Sponsor
Funding for this project was made available by the Falk Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History

The Maurice and Laura Falk Fund, later The Maurice Falk Medical Fund, a leading grant-giving institution in the fields of economics, politics, education, medicine, and social welfare, was established in 1929 and endowed with ten million dollars from Maurice Falk to be expended within a thirty-five year period. The Maurice Falk Medical Fund was chartered in 1960 as a means for the Fund to continue its grant-giving activity after 1965. In May 2004, the Fund's board changed its name to the Maurice Falk Fund. The Leon Falk Family Trust, founded in 1952, transferred its assets to the Maurice Falk Fund in 2006. By merging the assets of the Maurice Falk Fund and the Leon Falk Family Trust, the Falk Foundation was created. In 2010, the name changed officially to the Falk Foundation. The Foundation ended its almost 85 year legacy in 2014.

Maurice Falk was born into a German Jewish family in Allegheny City, now Pittsburgh's North Side, on December 15, 1866. He and his two brothers made their fortunes in the metal and chemistry industries of Western Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New Jersey. Businesses that they established or owned included the Duquesne Reduction Company and the American Chemical Company of New Jersey. They held stake in many other local businesses including the Farmers Deposit National Bank in Pittsburgh and kept alive the Jewish spiritual tradition of community and social investment. Early charitable contributions by the Falks were made to Rodef Shalom Congregation in Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh Federation of Jewish Philanthropies.

Maurice Falk established the Fund in 1929 with approximately $10,000,000 to be expended within 35 years to benefit human welfare causes. Along with his brother Leon Falk, Sr., Maurice had founded the Falk Clinic at the University of Pittsburgh in Oakland in 1928. Soon after, Leon Falk, Sr. and Maurice's wife, Laura Falk, both died. Maurice then took a retreat to Falklands Farm, a cattle ranch belonging to his nephew and Leon Falk, Sr.'s son, Leon Falk, Jr.. It was at Falklands that Maurice decided to form the Maurice and Laura Falk Foundation. Leon Falk, Jr. became the chairman of the foundation with J. Steele Gow, who had theretofore occupied the positions at the University of Pittsburgh of Dean of University Administration and Executive Assistant to Chancellor John G. Bowman, as Executive Director. Original board members include Arthur E. Braun as treasurer, Eugene Bonn Strassburger, Israel A. Simon as secretary (succeeded in 1949 by Louis Caplan, friend and attorney of Maurice Falk), Ernest Tener Weir, Thomas E. Millsop, Nathan Bernd Jacobs (succeeded by James A. Frank in 1956), Frank Breckenridge Bell (succeeded in 1949 by his son Davitt Stranahan Bell).

The philosophy of the foundation, shaped by the collaboration between Maurice, Leon, Jr., and J. Steele Gow, was that the funds would most effectively benefit society if distributed within a specific field, focused on preventative measures, and worked to supplement and stimulate other giving. With this in mind, an initial focus was placed on economic research in the context of nationwide economic depression. Its first grants were awarded to the Brookings Institute that funded publications on economic issues, such as inflation, economic development, and distribution of wealth. Substantial grants were later disbursed to the American Law Institute, and independent economic researchers. In 1954, the Falk Project for Economic Research in Israel was established.

There were questions raised about shifting funding sources to support war efforts during wartime, but ultimately, the board decided that the continued focus on broad economic issues stood to benefit the nation in the long-run. In 1948, the board began discussing other funding subjects outside of economic research and education that may benefit the largest number of people. Between 1952 and 1964, the Falk Foundation made a significant funding effort to support political education to promote political participation, particularly in universities and colleges.

The Maurice Falk Medical Fund was chartered in 1960 and endowed with five million dollars from the Maurice and Laura Falk Foundation. Although aid to medical- and health-related issues had been a major element of the Falk Foundation, this new Fund allowed the Foundation Board to honor Maurice Falk and his life-long interest in health. After the Falk Foundation phased out its grant-giving activity in 1965, the Maurice Falk Medical Fund allowed the Falk family to carry on their good works.

The Medical Fund's initial fields of concentration consisted of mental health and medical education. Eventually the latter area was eliminated to permit full commitment to projects related to mental health. The first Board of Trustees, consisting of Leon Falk, Jr., chairman; Henry Hillman, vice chairman; Julian Ruslander, secretary; John A. Mayer, treasurer; Harry M. Epstine; Nathan Katzen; and Thomas E. Millsop, along with President John Cowles, sought a "new cooperation between the science of psychiatry and the art of community organization." The board spent its first year discussing areas of interest and establishing a procedure for allocating funds. In order to implement their ideas the board called on several consultants to advise them on fields of medical research that were lacking financial support and to show them where the Fund's resources could be put to the greatest use. As a result, the board prioritized their awards to agencies focusing on the urban environment and mental illness in children.

In September 1963, Dr. Cowles resigned as President to resume his teaching career at the University of Pittsburgh. With the subsequent appointment of Philip B. Hallen, a former associate at the Hospital Planning Association of Allegheny County, to the presidency the Fund undertook a dramatic shift in grant policy and award numbers. Between its inception and September 1963, the Fund had distributed five grants with awards totaling $253,000; by 1966, it had given out 58 grants worth over $1.7 million. Ten years later the number of grants had quadrupled and the money allocated had exceeded five million dollars.

At the 21st meeting of the board on October 27, 1965, Hallen presented a proposal for a Developmental Grant Fund – small grants (under $1,000) to be distributed at the president's discretion as a mechanism for advancing the various areas of the Fund's work. The new program (later called the Innovative and Development Grant) was intended to enable rapid, flexible responses supporting developmental work that might lead to project proposals, help start new programs, and provide small grants outside the foundation's regular grant-making guidelines. By 1975, the Fund had distributed 203 of these grants totaling $177,322. Other changes included specific grants for film projects and book publications.

For its twentieth anniversary the Fund published a record of grants between 1960 and 1980, with brief descriptions of the institutions that had received awards. This report reflects the Fund's commitment to mental-health research on a national scale: seventy-three percent of the $10.5 million distributed had gone to support in that field of research and half of all grants had gone to agencies outside the Pittsburgh region. Hallen's remarks in the introduction of the report typify the Fund's policy of advancing the standards of knowledge for the benefit of all: "To me, the 'award' or grant is not a 'gift' but an agreement between two mutual parties. Foundation and grantee in a sense are joined in a partnership to accomplish a mutual goal."

Since its beginning, the Fund had focused on social policy related to mental health, health, civil rights, and minority affairs. Between 1960 and 1993 the Fund awarded grants over $12 million, nearly half of which targeted areas of racism and minority affairs.

President Phil Hallen officially retired in 1999. However, he remained a consultant and served as President Emeritus. Kerry O'Donnell succeeded Hallen in 2001. O'Donnell had worked as a mediator and program manager within the non-profit sector in Washington, DC before coming to the Fund. She remained its president until the Fund's closing in 2014.

Sigo Falk, chairman of the Foundation and son of Leon Falk, Jr., announced the closing of the Falk Foundation in October of 2014. Its final large grant was awarded in the amount of $15 million dollars to Chatham University for the creation of the Falk Sustainability endowment to support academic programs and the construction of the Eden Hall campus. The School of Sustainability and the Environment was renamed the Falk School of Sustainability at Chatham. The remainder of the assets were used to award $2 million to the Senator John Heinz History Center and to resolve outstanding administrative costs and previous grant agreements.

Arrangement

  1. Acc# 1994.0312
  2. Series I: General Files (1960-1985)
  3. Series II: Business and Financial Files (1960-1985)
  4. Subseries I. General Accounting
  5. Subseries II. Bank Statements
  6. Series III: Grant Files (1960-1990)
  7. Subseries I. Grants made between 1960 and 1971
  8. Subseries II. Grants made between 1972 and 1985
  9. Subseries III. Grants for Books
  10. Subseries IV. Grants for Film and Video Productions
  11. Acc# 2005.0231
  12. Series IV: Consultant Files (1940-1999)
  13. Series V: Dissertations and Reports (1968-1993)
  14. Series VI: General Files (1961-2004)
  15. Series VII: Grants (1969-2003)
  16. Series VIII: Grants for Films (1980-1999)
  17. Series IX: Grants to University of Pittsburgh (1985-1999)
  18. Series X: Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry-Publications (1947-1980)
  19. Series XI: Philip B. Hallen-Speeches (1963-1999)
  20. Series XII: National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence (1988-1993)
  21. Series XIII: President's Commission on Mental Health (1977-1979)
  22. Series XIV: Public Committee for Mental Health (1977-1985)
  23. Series XV: Public Corporation for Mental Health, (1972-1978)
  24. Series XVI: Rejected Applicants and Inquiries, (1961-2003)
  25. Series XVII: Various Articles and Clippings, (1973-1984)
  26. Acc# 2014.0192 and Acc# 2015.0024
  27. Series XVIII. Administration (1929-2016)
  28. Subseries I. Establishing and Guiding documents
  29. Subseries II. Leon, Maurice, and Sigo Falk
  30. Subseries III. Foundation Presidents
  31. Subseries IV. Boards and Meeting Minutes
  32. Subseries V. Financial and Real-Estate Records
  33. Subseries VI. Evaluations and Reports
  34. Subseries VII. Falk Clinic
  35. Subseries VIII. Anniversaries and Awards
  36. Subseries IX. Closing
  37. Subseries X. Press
  38. Subseries XI. Official Reports
  39. Subseries XII. Annual Reports
  40. Series XIX. Grants (1993-2016)
  41. Series XX. Correspondence and Information Files (1959-2014)
  42. Series XXI. Foundation Photographs (1929-1998)
  43. Series XXII: Falk Family Films and Photographs (1920s and 2014)

Collection Scope and Content Note

The Maurice Falk Medical Fund Records contain administrative, financial, and grant materials throughout the history of the Falk Foundation (1929-2014), in addition to a small selection of records of the Falk family. These records are housed largely in two-hundred and six boxes and are arranged first by the order in which they were donated and then by series. Series are unique within each accession, but some series, such as financial, grant, and administrative series exist for each accession group. Series have been designated for administrative or general records, business and financial records, grants, photographs, and Falk family photographs and films. Each accession and series therein have been described separately after the arrangement overview below.

After its closing in 2014, three accessions (2014.0192, 2015.0024, and 2017.0041) were donated on behalf of the Falk Foundation by Sigo Falk, great nephew of Maurice and Laura Falk and chairman of the Foundation, and by Philip B. Hallen, second President of the Foundation. The records of these accessions span the length of the Fund's existence- 1929 to 2014. They are divided similarly to previous accessions and include series on administrative records (including financial documents), grant projects, correspondence and information files, photographs, and Falk family films and photographs.

Conditions Governing Access

Box 179, Folder 22, is restricted until 2038 due to personal information in its contents.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Acc# 1994.0312 Gift of the Maurice Falk Medical Fund in 1994.

Acc# 2005.0231 Gift of the Maurice Falk Fund in 2005.

Acc# 2014.0192 Gift of Sigo Falk in 2014.

Acc# 2015.0024 Gift of Philip Hallen on behalf of the Maurice Falk Foundation in 2015. Acc# 2017.0041 Gift of Sigo Falk.

Preferred Citation

Maurice Falk Medical Fund Records, 1926-2014, MSS 207, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Senator John Heinz History Center

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Stephen L. Doell in 1996 and Megan Massanelli in 2015.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.

Related Materials

Falk Family Papers, 1900-1996 (bulk 1900), MSS 546, Rauh Jewish Archives, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center.

Maurice and Laura Falk Foundation. Proceedings of the dinner meeting of the Maurice and Laura Falk Foundation held in observance of its tenth anniversary, Hotel Schenley, Pittsburgh, September 24, 1940. HV 97 .M45 P963.

Pittsburgh Free Clinic Records, 1975-1976, MFF 4907, Thomas and Katherine Detre Library and Archives, Heinz History Center.

Starrett, Agnes Lynch. The Maurice and Laura Falk Foundation: A Private Fortune- A Public Trust. HV 97 .M45 S79.

Separated Materials

To the Printed Collection, 95 print publications and 71 video cassettes, 8 DVDs have been individually cataloged. Publication of these books and films, which deal with a variety of topics related to health, race and ethnicity, economics, sexuality, gender, and civil rights was funded through the Falk Fund.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • Maurice Falk Medical Fund (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
    • American Psychiatric Association.
    • American Jewish Committee.
    • Carnegie Mellon University.
    • Craig House (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
    • Health and Welfare Planning Association.
    • Jerusalem Foundation.
    • National Institute of Mental Health.
    • Pittsburgh Child Guidance Center.
    • Pittsburgh Pastoral Institute.
    • Shady Lane School (Pittsburgh, Pa.).
    • University of Pittsburgh.
    • Chatham College
    • Falk (Maurice) Institute for Economic Research in Israel

    Personal Names

    • Caplan, Gerald.
    • Cowles, John.
    • Dershowitz. Alan M.
    • Epstine, Harry.
    • Falk, Leon, Jr.
    • Hallen, Philip B.
    • Katzen, Nathan.
    • Millsop, Thomas E.
    • Mayer, John A..
    • Rusland, Julian.
    • Stein, Howard.

    Other Subjects

    • Allegheny County (Pa.)--Health.
    • Charitable Organizations--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    • Health Education--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    • Health Facilities--Pennsylvania-Pittsburgh.
    • Mental Health--Pennsylvania--Pittsburgh.
    • Pittsburgh (Pa.)--Health.

Container List

Series X. Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry- Publications,, (1947-1980)

Scope and Contents

This series includes bound volumes of reports and symposia produced by the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry, arranged by date of publication.

Boxes 160 and 161

Series XI. Philip B. Hallen- Speeches,, (1963-1999)

Scope and Contents

These files contain correspondence relating to more than one hundred speeches and articles (or prospective speeches and articles) to be presented or published by the Fund's president, Philip B. Hallen. Some but not all of them include copies of Hallen's remarks or writings. These files are arranged alphabetically by the organizations, venues, and publications for which they were created.

Boxes 162-164

Series XIII. President's Commission on Mental Health, (1977-1979)

Scope and Contents

This series reflects Hallen's service on the Commission (appointed by President Jimmy Carter) and includes materials relating to its activities and meetings as well as photographs, correspondence, and clippings. Files are arranged topically.

Box 166 and Box 167 Folders 1 and 2

Series XIV. Public Committee for Mental Health, (1977-1979)

Scope and Contents

This series reflects Hallen's service as a board member and includes correspondence, internal documents, reports, and clippings. Files are arranged topically.

Box 167 Folders 3-5

Series XVI. Rejected Applicants and Inquiries, (1961-2003)

Scope and Contents

This series consists only of lists of rejected applicants and inquiries about possible funding, arranged chronologically by the date of the Fund's board meeting. There is no information about the reasons for rejection.

Box 169 Folders 9 and 10, Box 170 Folder 1

Series XVII. Various Articles and Clippings, (1973-1984)

Scope and Contents

This series includes clippings related to the broad themes of ethnicity and racism.

Box 170 Folders 2-5