Kroc Foundation archives, 1945-1988, bulk 1970s-1980s

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Summary

Creators:
Kroc Foundation
Abstract:
Administrative files, 1967-1985, of the Kroc Foundation of Santa Ynez, California, relating to conferences it sponsored and grants it awarded in the area of medical research.
Extent:
150 linear feet (143 records containers, 6 film reels, 2 DVDs)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

Kroc Foundation archives, Mss 61. Department of Special Research Collections, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTES

The collection contains the following series:

SERIES I: CHRONOLOGICAL FILES. Boxes 1-12. Mostly outgoing correspondence, from the President's office, and also relating to conference and grants programs, including grant inquiries.

SERIES II: CONFERENCE FILES. Boxes 13-32. Mainly chronological, with correspondence, expenditure files, background reports and articles, reviewers comments, programs, photographs, papers written by participants, news releases and some publications.

SERIES III: GRANT FILES. Boxes 33-84. Arranged alphabetically by institution, then by principal investigator, with application paperwork, progress and grant expenditure reports, correspondence and other summary information tracking the course of the grant.

SERIES IV: GRANT PROPOSAL REJECTS AND INQUIRIES. Boxes 85-98. Morgue, arranged chronologically, then by surname of principal investigator.

SERIES V: GRANTS ADMINISTRATION. Boxes 99-103. Includes expenditure reports, final gift awards, grant facts, and inquiry log.

SERIES VI: OFFICE FILES. Boxes 104-118. Alphabetical and chronological files, including correspondence.

SERIES VII: PHOTOGRAPHS. Box 119. Mainly of principal investigators for grants.

SERIES VIII: PUBLICATIONS. Boxes 120-126. Includes printed material relating to conferences and conference proceedings, medical research programs, and related news.

SERIES IX: MISCELLANY. Box 127. Includes guestbook, postcards of foundation facilities, and alphabetical card file

SERIES X: ADDITIONS TO THE COLLECTION. Boxes 128- . Material received or located after processing the collection, including additional chronological files relating to the grants program, grant proposal rejects and inquiries files, grants administration files relating to multiple sclerosis, and office files.

Additions include materials (Series 10., Subseries 5. Lisa Napoli Files) collected by author Lisa Napoli in the course of writing her book Ray & and Joan: The Man who Made the McDonald's Fortune and the Woman who Gave it All Away (Dutton, 2016). Files contain correspondence, clippings, transcripts, McDonald's manuals for franchisees, court documents, personal items and documents of Ray and Joan Kroc, DVDs of interviews with Ray and Joan Kroc, and a series of public service film reels produced by Joan Kroc in the late 1970s and early 1980s on alcoholism for "Operation Cork."

Biographical / historical:

The following information is drawn primarily from the obituary for Robert Louis Kroc in the Santa Barbara News Press, May 9, 2002, B8.

Robert Louis Kroc was born in Chicago on June 19, 1907. He grew up in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, received his BA and MA from Oberlin College, and his PhD in Zoology and Physiology from the University of Wisconsin in 1933. From 1933 to 1944 he taught at Indiana University. He then embarked upon a career in research, much of it with Warner Lambert Pharmaceutical Company and its Research Institute, from 1944 to 1969.

In 1969, after retiring, Kroc moved to Santa Ynez, California, where he became President of the Kroc Foundation, dedicated to research in the fields of diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis. The Kroc Foundation was started by Ray A. Kroc, Robert's brother and founder of McDonald's Corporation. The Foundation sponsored conferences at the J & R Ranch, which resulted in a number of publications. It also awarded more than 1600 research grants to institutions in the U.S. and eight foreign countries.

In 1984 Ray Kroc died. The Foundation disbanded the next year, but its influence continues through endowed lectureships and professorships at Harvard Medical School, Washington University St. Louis, and the University of California, San Francisco.

Robert Louis Kroc died in Santa Barbara, California, on April 19, 2002.

Further information about the Kroc Foundation may be found in The Kroc Foundation: 1965-1985, the final report which includes its grant and conference activities since 1982, a history of the Foundation from 1965, and a brief biography of Ray A. Kroc, its sole benefactor.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Robert Kroc, 1985; Lisa Napoli, 2018.
Physical location:
Boxes 1-139 located at the Southern Regional Library Facility (SRLF). Inquire at Special Research Collections for access. Boxes 140-143 at Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

In accordance with the terms of the donation, researchers must agree to preserve the anonymity of reviewers with respect to comments pertaining to specific proposals. Boxes 1-139 STORED OFF-SITE. Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

Copyright has not been assigned to the Department of Special Collections, UCSB. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of the Department of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained.

Preferred citation:

Kroc Foundation archives, Mss 61. Department of Special Research Collections, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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