Steven C. Rockefeller
Encyclopedia
Steven Clark Rockefeller (born 1936), a fourth-generation member of the Rockefeller family
and a former dean of Middlebury College
, is a philanthropist who focuses on education, Planned Parenthood
, human rights and environmental causes.
He is a trustee of the Asian Cultural Council
and an advisory trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
. He has also served as a director of the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
.
Rockefeller attended prestigious Deerfield Academy
and received his AB from Princeton University
, where he received the Moses Taylor Pyne
Honor Prize and was president of The Ivy Club
; his Master of Divinity from the Union Theological Seminary
in New York City
; and a Ph.D.
in philosophy of religion from Columbia University
. He is a professor emeritus of Religion at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont
where he previously served as college dean and chairman of the religion department.
In 1959, he married Anne-Marie Rasmussen in Søgne
, Norway
; Anne-Marie was a former au pair
in the Rockefeller household. The couple had three children before divorcing. Steven Rockefeller remarried and had one child before the marriage ended in divorce. He then wed Barbara Bellows.
In 1976, he began an intensive study of Zen Buddhism, making frequent week-long visits to the Zen Center in Rochester, where he was a trustee.
He coordinated the drafting of the Earth Charter
for the Earth Charter Commission and Earth Council. In 2005, he moderated the international launch of the United Nations
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) (2005–14) in its headquarters in New York, launched by UNESCO
and attended by Nane Annan, the wife of Secretary General Kofi Annan
. He is Co-Chair of Earth Charter International Council and has written numerous essays on the Earth Charter, available at the Earth Charter website.
He was at one time directly involved with the Wendell Gilley Museum, a small institution on Mount Desert Island
in Maine that houses one of the world's great collections of wooden carvings of American birds.
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
and a former dean of Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
, is a philanthropist who focuses on education, Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood
Planned Parenthood Federation of America , commonly shortened to Planned Parenthood, is the U.S. affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation and one of its larger members. PPFA is a non-profit organization providing reproductive health and maternal and child health services. The...
, human rights and environmental causes.
He is a trustee of the Asian Cultural Council
Asian Cultural Council
The Asian Cultural Council is an American non-profit organization dedicated to providing support to Asian-American cultural exchange in the areas of visual and performing arts.- History :...
and an advisory trustee of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...
. He has also served as a director of the Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.
Biography
He is the second-oldest son of former United States Vice President Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller and his first wife, Mary RockefellerMary Rockefeller
Mary Todhunter Clark Rockefeller was the first wife of Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, a Governor of New York. He served, after their divorce, as the 41st Vice President of the United States.-Biography:...
.
Rockefeller attended prestigious Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy
Deerfield Academy is an independent, coeducational boarding school in Deerfield, Massachusetts, United States. It is a four-year college-preparatory school with approximately 600 students and about 100 faculty, all of whom live on or near campus....
and received his AB from Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, where he received the Moses Taylor Pyne
Moses Taylor Pyne
Moses Taylor Pyne , was a financier and philanthropist, and one of Princeton University's greatest benefactors and most influential Trustees....
Honor Prize and was president of The Ivy Club
The Ivy Club
The Ivy Club is the oldest eating club at Princeton University. It was founded in 1879 with Arthur Hawley Scribner as its first head. The members of each class are selected through the bicker process, a series of ten screening interviews, which are followed by discussions amongst the members as...
; his Master of Divinity from the Union Theological Seminary
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York
Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; and a Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in philosophy of religion from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He is a professor emeritus of Religion at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
where he previously served as college dean and chairman of the religion department.
In 1959, he married Anne-Marie Rasmussen in Søgne
Søgne
Søgne is a municipality in Vest-Agder county, Norway. Søgne was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 . Greipstad was separated from Søgne on 1 July 1913....
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
; Anne-Marie was a former au pair
Au pair
An au pair is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a host family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a small monetary allowance for personal use...
in the Rockefeller household. The couple had three children before divorcing. Steven Rockefeller remarried and had one child before the marriage ended in divorce. He then wed Barbara Bellows.
In 1976, he began an intensive study of Zen Buddhism, making frequent week-long visits to the Zen Center in Rochester, where he was a trustee.
He coordinated the drafting of the Earth Charter
Earth Charter
The Earth Charter is an international declaration of fundamental values and principles considered useful by its supporters for building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society in the 21st century...
for the Earth Charter Commission and Earth Council. In 2005, he moderated the international launch of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD) (2005–14) in its headquarters in New York, launched by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and attended by Nane Annan, the wife of Secretary General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
. He is Co-Chair of Earth Charter International Council and has written numerous essays on the Earth Charter, available at the Earth Charter website.
He was at one time directly involved with the Wendell Gilley Museum, a small institution on Mount Desert Island
Mount Desert Island
Mount Desert Island , in Hancock County, Maine, is the largest island off the coast of Maine. With an area of it is the 6th largest island in the contiguous United States. Though it is often claimed to be the third largest island on the eastern seaboard of the United States, it is actually second...
in Maine that houses one of the world's great collections of wooden carvings of American birds.
Publications
He has edited or written three books:- The Christ and the Bodhisattva (SUNY Series in Buddhist Studies). Edited by Donald S. Lopez, Jr., and Steven C. Rockefeller. State University of New York Press (1987)
- Rockefeller, Steven C. John Dewey: Religious Faith and Democratic Humanism. Columbia University Press (1991)
- Spirit and Nature -- Why the Environment Is a Religious Issue: An Interfaith Dialogue. Edited by Steven C. Rockefeller and John C. Elder. Beacon Press (1992).
Further reading
- Rasmussen, Anne-Marie. There was Once a Time of Islands, Illusions, and Rockefellers. New York and London: Harcourt Brace, 1975.
External links
- The Cousins A 1984 New York Times profile of prominent members of the fourth-generation Rockefellers. (requires subscription)
- Rockefeller Brothers Fund website