Rockefeller Institute of Government Rockefeller Institute of Government The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government is the public policy research arm of the State University of New York. The Institute conducts nonpartisan, data-driven research and analysis on state and local government and finance, American federalism, public management, and New York State issues. The Institute is located in Albany, New York. The Rockefeller Institute was founded in 1981, at the same time as the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, as a proposal by then-SUNY chancellor Clifton Wharton to acknowledge the role that Governor Rockefeller played in
John D. Rockefeller Atlanta, GA., named after Laura's family. The Spelman Family, Rockefeller's in-laws, along with John Rockefeller were ardent abolitionists before the Civil War and were dedicated to supporting the Underground Railroad. John Rockefeller was impressed by the vision of the school and removed the debt from the school. The oldest existing building on Spelman's campus, Rockefeller Hall, is named after him. Rockefeller also gave considerable donations to Denison University and other Baptist colleges. Rockefeller gave $80 million to the University of Chicago under William Rainey Harper, turning a small Baptist college into a world-class institution by 1900. He also gave a